Empire
by jo7787
Summary: Ava and Charon travel with their armies to the Mojave Wasteland to crush what is left of the Brotherhood of Steel. They meet The Courier, who they must aid to finish what they came to do and in the end, they find more than what they bargained for.
1. Prologue

**I'm too excited to do finish the one-shots (but I will add one or two more). Enjoy the third story!**

* * *

A courier stared at her bound wrists with heavy eyes, unbelieving of the events unfolding around her. Her legs were numb and the cool, night air chilled her bones as she stared off, the skyline of New Vegas in her view. She could hear those men talking. This job was not as easy as she thought it would be. When the courier standing in line before her denied this job, she should have walked out after him. Something was off, but there it was simply too much money to turn away, and the package was just a single, platinum poker chip. Greed was always getting the best of her. Not once has it ever worked out in her favor and she wished she had learned from it a long time ago. But now, it was too late. The men standing around her, these Great Khans, were digging a grave meant for her. She knew what was coming and a strange sense of peace was washing over her body. It was time to die.

"Guess who's wakin' up over here?" The Courier heard someone say. Blood dripped down the side of her face, and she remembered that motherfucker with the mohawk was the one who knocked her out when she walked over a hill earlier that day. He should be thanking whatever god he prayed to at night that she was tied up and could not reach her weathered 10mm pistol.

The Courier looked at the men standing before her: two Great Khans, and that bastard in the checkered suit, smoking a cigarette. This was all his doing. If she could, she'd get up and punch him in the fucking face, but her legs wouldn't move. One of the Great Khans, the one who hit her, leaned on his shovel beside the grave and leered at her.

"Too bad...she's a looker, ain't she?" he said, licking his lips.

"Time to cash out," said the man in the suit. He flicked the spent butt to the dirt and ground it in with the heel of his shoe.

"Will you just get it over with already?" asked the other Great Khan. He didn't really think any of this was fair. The courier was knocked out cold by his friend, and they could have just taken that fuckin' chip and left her. Maybe she would have died, maybe not, but what that asshole Benny was planning wasn't fair. He didn't even give her a chance to fight back. He was getting paid for this though, so it was out of his hands. A girl that gorgeous should have just been a dancer at Gommorah's instead of picking a job as a courier. Maybe she wouldn't even be in this mess.

The man in the suit held up his hand in annoyance and said, "Maybe Khans kill people without lookin' 'em in the face...but I ain't a fink, dig?"

_Just because you're going to look me in the fuckin' eyes when you kill me doesn't make you a man, _thought The Courier.

The man in the suit pulled out a shiny poker chip and held it up with a grin. The Courier showed no emotion as he stepped closer to her. Why fight it? She couldn't escape her binds and her gun was out of reach. It was pointless to fight back. Her eyes glanced at the moon, full and bright, and sighed. It would be one of the last things she'd ever see.

"You've made your last delivery, kid," said the man in the suit. His hand reached inside his jacket once more and the man pulled out a silver, 9mm handgun. "Sorry you got twisted up in this scene. From where you're kneeling, this must seem like an eighteen carat wheel of bad luck..."

The man cocked his gun and pointed it at The Courier's head. She gulped and closed her eyes, praying silently that the shot would be painless and just send her into the black void she knew was waiting for her. There was no fear, just shame that she had not lived her life as she had wanted to.

"...Truth is...the game was rigged from the start."

The Courier's eyes flashed open with anger, and she watched the man in the suit pull the trigger, sending a blast of fire and metal directly into her forehead.


	2. This Town Ain't Big Enough

A platoon of military trucks barreled down the broken highway, with a flock of vertibirds following overhead, sometimes blocking the blinding sun. The air was dry and hot. There had not been any rain for years it seemed. A lone red truck led the fleet and it was going at break neck speed, kicking up a thick cloud of dust behind it. The city of New Vegas was only about twenty miles away. Music blasted from the lead truck and a young woman was hanging out of the passenger window with a wild head of orange hair flowing out behind her. The driver, a young man just shy of his seventeenth birthday, smiled widely as he sang along with the music. He leaned on the horn of the truck and the other trucks behind him followed suit.

"How close do you think we are?" asked Nova with a wide smile. They could already see a massive tower in the distance and she was excited beyond belief. This was the kind of adventure people could only dream about. Two small infants wriggled in her lap and cooed loudly.

"Close," said R.J. MacCready. An eyebot flew past the truck and his eyes lit up. "Target practice! Grab the wheel Auntie!"

Nova sighed and held the truck's wheel as MacCready picked up his shotgun from his lap, leaned out of his window and took aim. The shell struck the eyebot, sending it off course for a moment, but it did not fall.

"Damn it!" MacCready shouted.

"Not the shot your parents are, huh?" Nova teased. She heard her nephew mutter angrily and he took aim once again. This time, his shot sent the eyebot flying off course beside the highway.

Two trucks pulled out of formation and rushed forward on either side of MacCready's truck. Nova leaned back into the cab and picked up the large flag. She stuck her arm out holding the flag, the symbol of the Outcasts flying high. The truck on MacCready's left raised its own flag, bearing the symbol of the Pitt Raiders. The truck on the right raised a flag as well with the ghoul's symbol. A small motorbike flew past the rest of the convoy and rode close behind him.

"Your father is out of his mind," Nova shouted over the music and the noise of the wind. MacCready laughed loudly. No one was crazier than his adoptive father, except maybe his mother.

Desmond Lockheart drove the ghoul's truck beside them and Nova watched him lean out of his driver-side window. "Ass and titties! YES!" screamed the ghoul with his fist in the air. Nova and MacCready laughed together. Desmond was probably more excited than anyone about coming to New Vegas.

Clouds of smoke hung over the town they were rapidly approaching and MacCready gulped at the sight. It didn't look good, and he wished they were driving towards another town completely. Licks of fire could be seen from the rooftops and Nova stuck her head out of the window for a moment to gain a better view.

Charon revved the motorcycle's engine and sped forward between the trucks. His dark brown aviators glinted in the sunlight, a thick brown cigar clenched between his teeth as he kept pace by MacCready's window. His mother wore sunglasses similar to his father's and her long, black hair flowed behind her like an ominous flag.

"There's something wrong with the town up there. We're going to check it out first, and then we'll signal for you to join us if it's safe!" Charon shouted over the noise.

MacCready lifted his hand high enough for Charon to see, and the ghoul tipped his head forward. Charon popped a wheelie and flew ahead of the convoy. The ghoul smiled to himself. MacCready may not have been his son by blood like Phillip was, but he truly was one of his own.

"How fast do you think they're going?" Nova asked.

"I dunno, a hundred maybe? If I ever went that fast on my bike, Pops would kill me," said MacCready. He slowed the truck down and the rest of the army followed suit until everyone was about a mile away from the town.

Soldiers jumped out of the trucks and stretched their tired, cramped legs, savoring the dry heat of the Mojave desert. It was a different sort of heat here compared to back East. The water in the air had made summers muggy and thick. Out here, one did not feel like they were walking through a bowl of soup, and the nights brought on a cooling breeze that soothed the parched skins of both man and ghoul alike.

"Are they going to check the town?" Ashur asked, looking over the hood of his truck.

"That's what Pops told me. I guess we wait for the signal," said MacCready.

The young man leaned back and stuck his legs outside of the window, resting them on the driver-side mirror. Towns were burned down all the time. That was one thing that both deserts had in common: raiders that attacked towns and villages, taking whatever they needed and then burning the place to the ground. Nothing out of the ordinary for MacCready and all the others that journeyed here.

* * *

Charon and Ava drove by a weathered "_Welcome to California!" _sign and the ghoul finally killed the motor when they reached a sign naming the town. Charon hopped off and offered his hand to his wife, helping her off the motorcycle. His grim face was enough to tell Ava that this wasn't going to be a stroll through the town to chat with the locals. He pulled out his combat shotgun and motioned for her to do the same with her Chinese assault rifle.

"Looks bad, huh?" she asked him.

"This place is not safe. Stay close to me, and if we meet anyone who is still alive, allow me to deal with them," Charon grunted.

"If we find anyone alive, we're going to help them, right?" Ava asked.

"Yes, of course, but we come first. That is our rule and I will follow it until the day that I die," he replied.

Ava and Charon walked towards the burning town when they saw a man running towards them, his clothes torn and bloodied, and he held a small piece of paper in his hands. He whooped and cheered into the expanse of desert and was skipping towards them. Charon growled, pushed Ava behind him and held up his shotgun. Grand, red flags waved in the breeze at the town's entrance and Ava shivered at the sight. This was not the work of raiders...this was something much worse. And here she thought that their army could just swoop in, kill the Brotherhood and turn right back to go home.

"Why do you always do this?" Ava asked, annoyed. She tried to step around Charon but he refused, and kept blocking her way, never taking his eye off the target. "I'm a better shot than most people!"

"We have children now, so shut up and do as I say," he snarled.

"YEAH! WHO WON THE LOTTERY?" screamed the man holding the piece of paper, "I DID. YES!"

"Get back!" Charon shouted, cocking his shotgun. "What the fuck are you talking about? What lottery?"

"Smell that air! Couldn't you just drink it up like booze?" said the man before falling to his knees and laughing maniacally. He began to roll around in the sand, kicking his feet up and waving his arms wildly.

What the fuck is he on?" Charon asked.

"I dunno...nothing I've ever seen..." said Ava. There wasn't a drug she could think of that could make someone act in this manner. She gave Charon a glance before asking the man, "What sort of lottery did you win?"

"What lottery?" laughed the man as he stood up. "THE lottery, that's what lottery, are you fucking stupid?"

"Watch what you say to my wife," Charon growled, pressing the gun into the man's face. The wild man did not bat an eye at the fact that a six-foot five ghoul was jamming a shotgun into his face and could not stop laughing.

"Charon, relax, I don't see a gun on him," Ava said quickly.

"It's the only lottery that matters! OH GOD, SMELL THAT FUCKIN' AIR BABY, YEAH!" screamed the man.

"What happened here?" Ava asked.

"The lottery!" the man said with a grin.

"All right, all right...is there another town we can go to? One that's safe?" Charon asked him.

"Goodsprings, man! But they're gonna get a lottery too, hell all the towns are gonna get one! Doesn't matter though, I won this one! Later!" the man shouted, kissing his ticket and running off into the desert.

"Remember that name, Ava. Come on, let's look around for a second and then we'll go back to the others," said Charon.

The pair walked into the town and frowned at the burning houses. The stench of burning wood stung at her nostrils and even Charon had a face of disgust. Ava looked down the street and gasped, gripping on to her ghoul's arm and pointing at the sight. Charon turned and his stomach began to churn. Crosses lined both sides of the street, and people were nailed to them.

"What the fuck kind of place is this?" Ava whispered.

Charon walked up to the closest cross and stared at the man nailed to it, who was crying softly. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and Charon knew if he was untied, he would die from the shock. In an act of mercy, Charon lifted his shotgun to his shoulder, aiming for the man's head. Ava buried her face into the ghoul's back and cringed when she felt him pull the trigger.

"Charon...even I have never..." she whispered.

"Nothing we have ever done compares to this, Smoothskin. This is evil at it's finest. I'm going to shoot the others as well...spare them from the torture," he muttered.

Charon ended the lives of all the people that hung on the crosses, apologizing to each person before he followed through. Ava tugged at his armor and pointed at the end of the street. A small army of men stood with their dogs, resting on the steps of the largest building in town. They all wore a strange sort of armor, one that neither Ava nor Charon had ever seen before...in person.

"Looks like ancient Roman armor," Ava whispered. Charon nodded and they continued down the street, decorated with severed heads on spikes. Ava held Charon's armor tightly and stared angrily at the men in front of them.

One of the more well-armored soldiers stepped forward and said, "My name is Vulpes Inculta. Don't worry, I won't have the pair of you nailed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It's useful that you happened by," said the soldier.

"This was your doing?" Charon asked, stunned.

"Oh yes. I want you both to witness the fate of the town of Nipton...to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you both to teach the lesson that Caesar's Legion taught here...especially any NCR troops you run across," the soldier explained.

Charon wished he could just pull the trigger on this bastard that stood before him, but there was only him and Ava, and they were surrounded by at least thirty soldiers.

"Your crimes are unforgivable!" Ava spat.

"The girl amuses me...she thinks she can speak freely," laughed the soldier.

Ava pushed past Charon, lifting her hand to slap the man across the face. Charon dropped his shotgun to the ground and grabbed her wrists, clamping one hand over her mouth and pulling her to his chest.

"Don't move or we're done for," Charon breathed into her ear.

"All crimes are unforgivable, wretched girl. If you feel strongly about it, attack us, and soon you will not feel a thing," the soldier sneered.

Vulpes Inculta and his soldiers walked off and Charon refused to let go of Ava until they were out of sight completely. She pulled free of his hold and shoved him with a reddened face.

"No one talks to me like that and gets away with it!" she screamed. "You shouldn't have stopped me!"

"And if I did not, we would have both been killed, or worse! I held you back because I love you, and the last thing I want is to watch those men drag you to a cross and crucify you!" Charon yelled. "Come, we must return to the trucks. I want to get away from here as quickly as possible, before they decide to come back."

* * *

The Butcher and her army were closer to their prey. Ava cheered, the memory of the burning town of Nipton pushed back into her mind. Charon had decided it was best for the others not to worry so they kept the news of Caesar's Legion low, telling only Desmond and Ashur what they had seen. Ashur suggested that it best they not get involved with the matter; there was no telling how many soldiers the Legion had behind it and they had come to destroy the Brotherhood. Nothing more.

The villagers of Goodsprings stepped out of their homes and saw a colossal convoy of trucks in the distance. The first three trucks raised flags and it was not unlike the pirate ships of old times, or Caesar's Legion with their ominous flags. A motorcycle sped ahead and was only seconds away from entering the town.

"Who are they?" asked Trudy, the barkeep, with fear.

"Dunno," replied Sunny. "But they're coming this way."

"It's an army," said one villager nervously. "As well-armed as the NCR it seems."

The motorcycle slid to a stop and the villagers were surprised to see a massive ghoul cut the engine. The ghoul was tall and well-muscled with reddish-brown hair, and a thick, neatly trimmed beard. What surprised the villagers even more was the attractive young woman who clung to his back. She hopped off the motorcycle, raising her hand with a smile on her face and the villagers sighed with relief. They at least appeared friendly.

"Who are you?" called out the village doctor.

"I'm Protector Ava Flint, leader of the Outcast army from the Capital Wasteland. This is Charon, the Battlemaster of the ghoul clan, and my husband."

The villagers reeled back and stared at Ava in complete and utter shock.

"You...you're the...the Butcher?" asked Sunny, gripping her Varmaint Rifle nervously. This was worse than she had thought. "You two took down both the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel on the East Coast. Single-handedly! Why are you here?"

"Well, I wouldn't say single-handedly…our armies are here for the Brotherhood. Nothing else, I swear. We don't want you to think we are here to cause problems with you personally. We did have a run in with Caesar's Legion though," explained Ava. The villagers stared at the shotgun strapped to the ghoul's back. Ava and Charon heard the roaring engines and they watched their friends and children step out of the trucks. Ava raised her hand in greeting and Charon blew out a thick cloud of gray smoke.

"The Brotherhood will think we approve...the NCR and Caesar as well! They'll destroy us!" cried one of the villagers.

"We'll protect the town in exchange for trade and your permission to stay outside of your grounds," Ava announced. She and Charon walked up to MacCready and stood beside him. Charon ruffled his son's hair and smiled down at him.

"Let's have some introductions shall we? This is my Second-In-Command, Ishmael Ashur, leader of the Pitt Raiders." Ava walked up to the village doctor and shook his hand. Charon followed and placed one hand on his wife's hip before he stuck out his gloved hand to the village doctor.

"This is my Second-In-Command, Desmond Lockheart, and my Lieutenant, Gobtholemew," Charon announced, pointing to the ghouls standing beside him.

"I'm...Doctor Mitchell. Welcome to Goodsprings," he said carefully.

The villagers stared at the newcomers, too stunned to respond. There was an army at their doorstop and the leaders were a young woman and the biggest ghoul any of them had ever seen. It was nothing they had ever seen before.

"Have we got a deal?" Ava asked.

"Y-yes...as long as we are protected, we give you permission to trade and stay here," said Doctor Mitchell, looking back at the other residents.

Ava whistled loudly and the villagers watched her army spring into action, setting up tents and one man even led out a herd of Deathclaws tethered to ropes. The villagers cringed as the Deathclaws roared and grunted.

"R.J., make sure the little ones don't get close to the Deathclaw pen. I know they're fascinated but I don't want any accidents. This is your responsibility for the trip, understood?" said Ava to her son. MacCready nodded and walked off.

The villagers saw another woman walking towards the one called Ava, holding two infants. The Doctor noticed that both children had the eyes of the ghoul…

"Ava, the babies are a handful. I hope Gob and I don't have any now," said the woman with orange hair.

"Nova, my children are angels," said Charon as he took the male child from her hands. "Aren't you, Phillip?"

The baby cooed and grabbed at Charon's eye patch, causing the ghoul to chuckle loudly. Ava smiled and took the other baby, a girl, from the woman's arms. The doctor noticed that both children resembled Ava as well but that could not possibly be true. The doctor walked up to Ava and Charon and stared at the infants with great interest.

"Yours?" asked Doctor Mitchell. Ava nodded and flashed a beautiful smile.

"This is Catherine, but we call her Kitty. That's Phillip. We're hoping he looks like Charon when he's older," explained Ava.

Doctor Mitchell's jaw fell. Ava and Charon both laughed at the sight. They were very used to these reactions.

"These are your…" he asked slowly.

"Biological children? Yes. MacCready and the other children you'll see are not ours, but we have taken them all into our care and treat them as our own," said Charon. Phillip grabbed for his eye patch once again and Charon held him away at an arm's length with a smile.

"That's not possible…" said the doctor softly.

"The eyes prove it. Charon's got the strangest blue eyes and both of the kids have them. We were lucky. You can ask our medic, Doctor Barrows about it all," said Ava. The doctor studied the children further. Both of them had the strange blue eyes and the same reddish hair as the ghoul. It was the single most amazing thing he had ever seen.

"They are both beautiful," he said.

"Thank you much. Just want to warn you and the villagers, we have a herd of Deathclaws as you can see, and one of Charon's clan mates is keeping a pretty large group of feral ghouls in a cave about a mile away. We can control both, but I'd tell your villagers not to come snooping around. We're not taking responsibility for any missing body parts or people. The Deathclaws especially, are only tame for us," said Ava.

The doctor watched in awe as their son, the one they called MacCready, grabbed a Deathclaw by its horns and pulled it towards a large pen. The creature did not attack the boy and instead rubbed its large head into his back. He also saw the woman with the orange hair embrace Charon's Lieutenant.

Ava noted the look on the doctor's face and added, "Yeah, we're an odd group, I know. But we make things work, and I'd like to keep things that way. We didn't want the Brotherhood to come for us at home, so here we are. We're here to keep our ways."

Charon hoisted his son onto his shoulder and Ava held their daughter out to him. He gathered her in the crook of his arm and walked away as a large group of children rushed toward him, babbling excitedly. Ava smiled fondly at them all and returned her gaze to the town doctor.

"You'll have to forgive us, ma'am. Our town is peaceful and we are caught off guard by all this," said Doctor Mitchell.

"My army is well-behaved for the most part, although I can't really count Charon's Second-In-Command in that group…you might want to warn any young women to stay away from him. He has quite the habit of bedding every mildly attractive girl he can find," said Ava with an amused grin.

"Is he dangerous?" asked the doctor.

"No, not at all. He's just a fucking pig who breaks hearts left and right. Charon can control him pretty well but sometimes Desmond can't help himself. We had quite the row with a village we stopped in about a month ago. Desmond got a hold of the sheriff's wife…that was fun. Once Charon stepped in, the sheriff backed off. The wife was crying for Desmond when we left," said Ava.

The doctor shook his head and laughed. The Butcher seemed friendly enough despite her reputation.

"Is there anything you need?" the doctor asked.

Ava thought for a moment and said, "A guide. Someone who knows New Vegas like the back of their hand."

"You'll want The Courier," said Doctor Mitchell with confidence.

"Who the hell is The Courier?" Ava asked.

"She is exactly what you are looking for. A bit wild, strung out on drugs at times, but she knows her way around. She was dragged here a few months ago, near death, by Victor. He's the robot you'll see rolling around town," Mitchell explained.

Ava cringed, her hatred of robots settling in, and yelped, "Robot?"

"Now, now, Victor wouldn't harm a fly," Mitchell said with a grin.

"What does she look like and where can I find her?" Ava asked.

"She's very tall. Curly, blood-red hair that goes past her waist, curvy, tanned skin. Strikingly beautiful. You can't miss her, and you'll know it when you see her," said the doctor. "She lives in Victor's shack with a ghoul… right over there by the old school."

Ava winced at the mention of the robot once more and thanked the doctor for the information before walking back towards her convoy. She found Charon tending to the Deathclaws along with MacCready, Desmond and Gob. Dogmeat lay at Nova's feet and Phillip and Kitty were curled up beside him, sound asleep.

"There is a bit of a problem, Smoothskin," said Charon as he noticed his wife.

"What, Desmond found another filthy whore to occupy himself with?" she asked.

"Hey! I only pick the finest filthy whores, Ava. You've never complained about the eye candy before," said Desmond. Nova scowled at the ghoul and Ava glared at him.

"Do you have to say that shit around Nova? You know how she gets, Des," hissed Gob. Desmond laughed loudly and heaved a large amount of steel wire over his shoulder.

"One of the female Deathclaws laid a clutch of eggs on the truck and she refuses to let anyone near her except MacCready. She gave Rococo a hell of a gash in his arm when he opened the gate," said Charon.

MacCready led a large Deathclaw toward the group and Ava noticed its limp. "What the fuck happened to Bastard?"

"The female attacked him when he got too close," said R.J. with a frown.

Ava examined the Deathclaw's injury and instructed R.J. to bandage it. She turned to Charon and said, "Just park the truck inside the pen and leave her alone. I found us a guide. She's a courier."

"That is a start. She would know the area at least," said Charon, lighting up a fresh cigarette.

"Come with me...she lives with a fucking robot and a ghoul," said Ava. She pulled Charon to his feet and Desmond followed the pair as well.

"Don't you have things to do?" Charon asked Desmond.

"I can do them later. I'd like to meet this courier...if she lives with a ghoul, she won't be surprised when I get in her pants," said Desmond.

"What about Clover? And what if she's ugly?" Ava asked.

"The bitch isn't talking to me since she started hanging out with Aries. Fucking bastard gets all the birds for the record, I don't give a shit what The Courier looks like. I need to fuck something," Desmond growled.

Ava and Charon laughed, and the three friends walked down the dirt road to The Courier's shack. A large robot rolled ahead of them, and Ava could see the red hair of The Courier behind him, and a tall, aging ghoul sitting in an old rocking chair beside her, playing a guitar and singing a song Ava had never heard before.


	3. We're In The Same Boat

**Sorry for the delay! I got caught up in both my novel and my Mass Effect fic, but I think I'm back in the swing of things with this fic. I promise the next chapter won't take as long to go up and I apologize if this chapter is crappy compared to my others. Enjoy and thanks for reading.**

* * *

The wind picked up for a moment and Ava's hand sought out Charon's. She wasn't exactly sure why she did, but her ghoul squeezed it in tender reassurance. He would never tell her that he was nervous as well, but he wasn't sure what they would all do here without some sort of guide. Wastelanders tended to shy away from strangers, and he doubted anyone would willingly give him or Ava the information they needed to find the Brotherhood of Steel. This was not the Capital Wasteland anymore, it was a whole different ball game with an entirely different set of rules. Who should they trust and who should they be wary of? Where were the safe towns and villages that wouldn't shoot a ghoul on site? Is water clean here? What beasts roamed the deserts at night over on this side of the country? He didn't know, and neither did Ava. If this courier did not agree to help them, he and Ava would be blindly leading their armies to certain death.

The courier raised her head and grinned at the sight of Ava and Charon walking towards her. The girl was an outsider, but if she was holding hands with a ghoul, she was all right in her book. The ghoul sitting beside her was getting on in age, and she was more protective over him than he was about her. The courier raised her arm above her head and waved. Her aging ghoul stopped playing his guitar and shielded his eyes to better see the newcomers. Two ghouls, and one smoothskin, wearing armor he had never seen before, and they were strapped with guns. They were dangerous, this much was clear. He slowly reached for his revolver and the courier reached out to rest her hand on his knee.

"Easy, viejo. If they wanted to shoot, they would have already," the courier whispered.

Ava, Charon, and Desmond came to a stop about three feet away from the courier and her companion. Ava glanced at Desmond and saw that he was pulling at the collar of his armor, licking his dry lips at the sight of the courier. Charon rolled his eyes and elbowed Desmond's ribs, eliciting a growl out of his Second-In-Command.

"Keep your damn tongue in your mouth," Charon muttered. "Fucking pig."

"I'm going to start a mutiny if you don't stop hitting me," Desmond growled.

"I'd like to see you try," Charon snarled, staring Desmond down with a fiery glare.

Ava saw the courier and her companion grow rigid and she pulled Charon back. "Both of you, stop it!" she hissed. Ava returned her eyes to the courier and smiled, holding out her hand. "Hello, my name is Ava Flint. This is my husband, Charon, and that prick is our stooge, Desmond."

Charon chuckled as Desmond turned away from the group with a scoff. He and Ava both enjoyed picking on Desmond a bit, and now was no different. He held out his own hand to the older ghoul beside the courier and they shook hands.

"Carmen," the courier answered, twirling a bit of her hair between her fingers before taking Ava's hand. She nodded towards the old ghoul who had not taken his eyes off of Desmond since his exchange with Charon and added, "This is Raul. You guys aren't from here."

Charon shook his head and said, "No, we are not. We come from the D.C. Area. We're here to...find certain people."

No use in telling the girl everything until he was sure she could be trusted. There was too much at stake for them to make such foolish and novice mistakes. Carmen leaned back in her chair and laughed, resting her legs on Raul's knees.

"No shit? We're in the same boat, then. I'm lookin' for some motherfuckers too. The ones that did this," Carmen says with a fierce look, tapping the side of her head.

The wound on her skull was almost hidden by her long locks, but it was still not fully healed. Carmen smiled up at Ava from beneath her curtain of red hair and sat up once more.

"I have one of those too," said Ava, and she lifted her hair away from her scalp and showed Carmen her own angry scar. "Charon killed the bastard who gave it to me."

"And I would do it many times over again. No one gets away with laying a finger on my wife. I will take their life without question," Charon interrupted. He kissed the top of Ava's head, right above the scar, and wrapped an arm around Ava's waist.

"So, did you come all the way out here to shoot the shit with a couple of strangers?" Carmen asked.

"No. I was wondering if you were available for hire," Ava said.

"Need something delivered?" Carmen asked.

"We need someone who knows the Mojave," Desmond said. "A guide, if you will."

"All right, but after the hell that I went through, I don't come cheap. With this kind of headshot, there's a drug fix needing to be soothed," said Carmen.

Charon's face became grim at Carmen's admittance. They did need a guide, but what they didn't need was one who was perpetually drugged up beyond help. She could lead them in circles...or die of an overdose. He was surprised he did not notice the slightly glazed over brown eyes earlier.

"How about this for payment...we help you find the guys that shot you...and you help us find our prey," Ava proposed.

"Sounds like a good and fair deal, boss," Raul chimed in.

"You're his boss?" Charon asked, tensing up. If she held the ghoul against his will, the courier would die.

Carmen shook her head with a smile. "Oh, hell no. Raul is like a surrogate father for me. He's my best friend."

"Yeah, I just call her boss because she's very...demanding of people. It's Carmen's way or no way," Raul said.

Ava held her head up in a very dignified manner and growled, "In my army, we do things my way or Charon's way..."

"I don't think you're in a position to bargain here, army or not," Carmen noted.

Desmond roared with laughter and prodded Ava's side with a smirk. He took a cigarette out of his pack and held another out to Carmen, who took it with a sultry smile. Desmond gulped...he never liked red hair...and brown eyes were plain and common...but on Carmen, everything just popped for him.

"It seems that the Butcher has met her match," Desmond quipped.

"Wait a minute here...you're _the_ Butcher? The leader of the Outcasts? No fuckin' way!" Carmen shouted, standing up. "You? Naw...I heard the Butcher is a frigid fuckin' bitch who came straight out a vault."

Ava took a step forward, shrinking the distance between herself and Carmen. "You want to see how much of a bitch I can be? I took down the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel on the East Coast...I'll have no problem snapping your fucking neck."

"Ava, that's enough!" Charon muttered.

Desmond stepped between the two girls and chuckled, resting his hands on Carmen's shoulders.

"Now, now, we're all friends here. We help you and you help us. I can promise you that Ava here can kill the people that attacked you without a fuckin' problem. She'll bring your their hearts on a gilded platter for you, my dear," Desmond purred. He stroked Carmen's cheek and winked, causing Raul to stand up with an irritated groan. "Do we have an accord?"

Carmen gave Desmond a once over and a smile emerged on her face. "If the Butcher and Muscles here can get Trudy, the bar owner to tell them what she knows, I'm in. You'll have Raul and I as your guides...and no one is better than us."

"If you're so damn good, why can't you get your own leads?" Ava sneered.

"I could say the same for you, Vault Princess," Carmen answered with a satisfied smirk. "But when you pay Trudy a visit, you'll see why it's been a pain for me to get any information. Ask about the guy in the checkered coat...that's all I know about him."

"You-" Ava began. Charon covered her mouth and pulled her away before she would say something to drive away their potential guides, leading her towards the Prospector Saloon down the dusty road. Raul shook his head and told Carmen he would start on their evening meal inside. There was one last glare shared between the two ghouls and Raul shuffled inside, slamming the rotting door behind him.

Desmond leaned against the doorframe and wriggled his brow at Carmen. "So," he began in a low voice. "I've never fucked a Mexican bird before...wanna give it a go? I can show you what a real gentleman can do to a body like yours..."

Carmen slinked under his arm and dragged her thin hands over the front of his armor. "Sounds tempting..." she whispered, resting her chin on him.

Desmond felt a sharp pain shoot up from below his waist and the blinding pain had him bending over, gasping for air. He saw Carmen's leg return to the ground and he held himself, trying in vain not to roll on the ground and howl like a dog that's been shot. The bitch just kneed him in the groin and was laughing at him.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on me, motherfucker. I decide if you get to touch me or not, understood?" Carmen muttered.

"Fuck...more than you know, you crazy bitch," Desmond answered with a groan of pain.

He slumped down to the floor and Carmen laughed again, leaving Desmond outside alone. The ghoul clutched himself and curled into a ball as another wave of absolute pain washed over his body. Despite the fact that Carmen was the sole reason behind the crippling pain, Desmond found himself grinning. He loved a good challenge.

* * *

Ava and Charon walked hand in hand through Goodsprings and everyone, every single soul that lived there, stared at them in disgust. It was something they had dealt with before, but never to the extent that was occurring. Ava walked closer to Charon and he put a protective arm around her shoulder.

"Let's just get a drink and that information for Carmen before we leave," said Charon, ignoring the hateful stares.

It wasn't fair. He was used to this as a ghoul. Humans feared you, refused to touch you and some gladly shot on sight. But Ava, was a war hero and incredibly beautiful. It hurt him that she had to go through this at times, and he wondered if it was worth it. Every bit of discrimination they dealt with made her a bit more cruel towards others who were not her family. The cheerful girl who walked into the Ninth Circle three years ago was gone, and now a slightly bitter woman had taken her place.

They walked into the town's bar and sat at the counter together. They waited, and waited, for half and hour before Charon lifted his finger to the aging barkeep and said, "Could we get some service please?"

The old woman looked at them with cold eyes and said, "We don't serve your type or the filth that associates with you."

"You're turning down caps, and by the looks of it, this shithole doesn't get many visitors," said Ava with a snarl.

The old woman crossed her arms and pointed to the door. "Your caps are no good here. Get out of my bar."

A man who had been sitting beside Ava gave her a wink and Charon stood up suddenly, reaching for his combat knife.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Charon spat.

"Just wonderin' how you managed to snag this hot piece o' ass. You being held prisoner by this zombie baby? I could play hero. The name's Ringo," said the man with a smile.

Ava glared at him and said, "Don't get it twisted, fucker. I'm with him because there is no one better than him. The fuck kind of name is that anyway? You think you're some kind of musician with a name like that, because I doubt an empty jug of moonshine counts as an instrument. And I am not your baby...if you ever call me that again, I'll cut your head off, the one in your pants and on your shoulders. Got it?"

"Shit, baby, just tryin' to see if you need savin'," he drawled. "No need to be a fuckin' cunt about it."

Charon lunged for the man but Ava gripped his arm tightly and shouted, "Stop! That's what they want you to do!"

"I will show him, and the rest of these bigots, what a monster I can be," Charon said.

"No, you won't!" Ava shouted. "Sit the fuck down!"

Charon sat on the bar stool immediately and winced, as did Ava. As the last person to hold his contract, Ava had noticed that Charon's body would still react to her commands at times. It upset her that his training was so embedded, so ingrained into his head, that he would listen to her without question. The ghoul shook with fury and Ava gently touched the side of his face before pulling her Blackhawk out and pointed it at the barkeep.

"It's a really bad idea to piss me off, so you're going to do what I fucking say, or I'm going to kill everyone in here for shits and giggles," Ava said. The barkeep nodded and Ava sat down beside her ghoul, still pointing the gun.

"First things first. My husband wants," Ava nudged his arm and asked, "What do you want hun?"

"Whiskey," Charon growled.

"Right. He wants whiskey, give him the whole fucking bottle, and I want some Nuka Cola. You desert rats have that shit out here, right?" Ava asked.

"Y-yes...and we also have Sunset Sas-" Trudy began.

"I asked for fucking Nuka Cola bitch, are you deaf?" Ava bellowed.

The barkeep hurried to get their drinks and Charon smiled. She may have turned bitter, but Ava got shit done, no question about that. When the old woman returned with their drinks, Ava cocked the gun she held and smiled.

What do you know about the man who shot the Courier...the stupid motherfucker with a checkered suit," Ava asked.

"His goons were havin' some kind of argument about where they were headed, but the guy in the suit kept shushing them. Sounded like they came in from the north through Quarry Junction and if that was the case, I don't blame them," Trudy explained.

"What's there?" Ava asked.

"Some deathclaws have made a nest there," she answered.

"Deathclaws, no problem. What else?" Ava asked.

"He was talkin' about The Strip, and he mentioned something about a town called Novac. That's all I heard," Trudy said.

"All right. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Ava asked. Charon gulped down the last bit of his whiskey and he threw the empty bottle at the mirror behind the bar, shattering both the bottle and the mirror itself.

Ava yawned and turned to the drunk man beside her, and shot him in the knee. His screams mixed with the screams of the bar's other patrons as she and Charon stood up.

"What the fuck was that for?" Ringo shouted.

"What? I hate pigs," said Ava with a shrug. Charon grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bar before she could raise her Blackhawk again.

Outside, the temperature was dropping quickly, and Ava's teeth chattered loudly. They have traveled for months but she was still not used to the stale air, or the bitter cold that crept up at night. Sleeping beneath a pile of blankets was strange, and waking up to a searing heat was even stranger.

"They're not going to like us very much for that," said Charon.

"Eh, they didn't like us to begin with," replied Ava. "I've never been one to give a shit about my reputation, you know that."

A few minutes later, Ava and Charon had returned to Carmen's home and saw Desmond still sitting on his ass beside the door with a dazed look.

"What happened?" Charon asked, not at all hiding his grin.

"The fuck do you think happened?" Desmond snapped.

"Well, I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you made a pass at her and she kicked you right in the baby maker," Ava said with a snicker.

"She didn't kick me, she kneed me," Desmond replied with a sigh. He looked up at the pair and managed to grin. "I think she's the one..."

Ava and Charon laughed, holding on to each other until tears fell. Desmond hoisted himself up, muttering a string of curse words that neither Ava nor Charon could hear over their booming laughter. Charon rapped on the door and Raul appeared behind it, a smug grin appearing on his face when he saw the state of Desmond.

"We have your information," Charon announced. "A place called Novac. That's where they went."

Raul nodded and said, "Thank you for this, amigo. I'll let Carmen know. She'll want to leave tonight."

Less than an hour later, Charon and Ava were climbing into one of their trucks, Nova and Desmond squeezing into the cab with them, and Carmen, Gob and Raul sitting in the bed of the truck. Ava took Nova's hand and lifted it to her lips, sending Nova into a fit of giggles. The girls talked about the radio station and wondered if they would ever meet Mr. New Vegas in person. Charon chuckled and started the truck with a little bit of swearing and a kick before the engine sputtered to life. It wouldn't be too long of a trip since they all didn't have to walk, and the ghoul was glad for it. He was hoping for a swift return so they could finally get down to business and bring down what was left of the Brotherhood. Carol and Greta were watching over their children and both Roy and Ashur agreed to split the duties of running the army while they were away. Desmond sulked and stared into the rear view mirror, a smug grin appearing on his face whenever Carmen's face appeared. He had found one worth a bit of a fight at last.

Now...if Desmond could only convince her that he wasn't all bad...that itself would be another challenge entirely.


	4. One For My Baby

**Thanks to DeathSidhe, DaLover and everyone else who has reviewed so far! A special thanks to gklh910, who managed to get me out of my writing funk with her spectacular story, "Hired Help." That fic is gold, and if you haven't read it...you better...before I send Ava and Charon to hunt you down. Seriously, the fic is damn good. It's fun, lovey, and full of Charon and FLW goodness. **

**I promise, it's not going to be easy for Desmond to get into Carmen's pants. I'm going to make that prick work for it, whether he gets lucky or not. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

A motorcycle came pulling up behind the truck and Charon let out a groan of annoyance. Ava and Nova were chatting away about this and that, he wasn't really paying attention. He snapped his fingers in front of Ava's face and she glared at him furiously.

"What?" Ava growled.

Charon pointed to the rear view mirror and said, "Your son has decided to tag along it seems."

"Oh, so when he does something bad, R.J. Is suddenly _my_ son?" Ava asked.

"Yes," Charon said. Ava rolled her eyes and continued her conversation with Nova. She didn't really mind if MacCready came along with them, but ever since she made him an initiate for the Outcasts, she had noticed Charon would conveniently tell him to stay behind in the camp and do some mindless task. The ghoul was hell bent on keeping his son from any sort of battle, even though R.J. has proved time and time again that he was capable of handling himself.

MacCready pulled up to the driver side window and waved with a grin. His black combat armor had been recently oiled and shined in what little sunlight was left over the horizon and his Chinese assault rifle was strapped to his back. Charon leaned out, keeping his foot on the gas and shot his son a glare.

"Go home, MacCready," Charon shouted.

"All the way to D.C. Pops?" MacCready asked, smiling.

"You know what I mean! Turn around and go back to camp!" Charon snapped.

"C'mon, Pops. I wanna go with you guys," MacCready whined.

"Absolutely not!" the ghoul shouted.

Ava leaned across Charon and peeked out the window. Desmond and Nova both craned their necks as one, taking the opportunity to stare at Ava's backside. "Don't mind your father," Ava said. "Just keep close, all right?"

MacCready hooted victoriously and Ava sat back in her seat. Charon shook his head and lit a cigarette, mumbling angrily.

"What was that, Captain McGrumpy Ass?" Ava teased.

"Nothing, just leave me alone," Charon grumbled. "God damn women, I swear it's the same shit every fucking day with them."

Nova and Desmond laughed loudly as Ava gave Charon's thigh a squeeze.

"What a fitting nick name for a fuckin' prick like you," Desmond said. "I'm going to call you that from now on."

"Call me that and I will gladly wring your fucking neck when this truck comes to a stop," Charon said.

"Shit, Muscles. No need to be so nasty," Desmond pointed out.

"I have no contract; I will do as I please," Charon said with a sneer. "If you don't shut your damn mouth, I'll have Carmen knee you in the balls again."

"Maybe I liked it! Ever think of that, you stupid-"

"Lockheart, I swear to god, I will stop this truck and strangle you if you open your mouth one more time," Charon growled.

"Ava, you really need to keep that husband of yours in check. I have half a mind to-" Desmond began. Charon slammed on the brakes and Desmond added, "All right! I'll shut up! Jesus fucking christ, a bloke can't speak his mind here?"

The girls could not contain their giggling. Banter between Charon and Desmond was something everyone looked forward to. Charon turned up the volume of the radio, drowning out the chatter in the cab and sucked in another lungful of smoke.

Less than an hour later, Charon had pulled up to the town of Novac, its impossibly tall dinosaur statue towering above them. He climbed out of the truck and watched MacCready park beside them. Carmen, Raul, and Gob hopped out of the truck bed, stretching their arms and legs out, releasing any kinks that they acquired after sitting uncomfortably for so long. Ava noticed MacCready staring at Carmen and slapped the back of his head.

"Eyes off the whore, Robert," Ava hissed.

Charon chuckled and added, "Your Uncle Desmond has taken quite a liking to her...she may be family one day."

"That bitch is not going to be a part of this family!" Ava whispered angrily.

Carmen skipped over to them, grasping Raul's hand tightly and asked, "Who is this handsome boy?"

MacCready's face flushed pink as he pulled his helmet over his face and the ghouls had a good laugh at the sight. Ava crossed her arms and cleared her throat, sending them all into silence.

"This is our son, R.J. MacCready. This is my girl, Nova, Gob's wife. MacCready, Nova, this is the courier we unfortunately hired, Carmen and her friend, Raul."

"Nice to meet you both," Raul said, shaking MacCready's and Nova's hands.

"Enough chatter. We're here to find your mark, Carmen. Let's ask around, maybe someone has seen him," Charon said.

Taking Ava's hand, he led the group towards the run-down motel, keeping his eye out for any unsavory characters that could be nearby. The ones that called themselves Caesar's Legion were especially a threat...and he dreaded crossing paths with them once more. Charon remembered them vividly, their armor made from those they had slain, and the haunted, vicious look in their eyes. They did not seem afraid of death. This Novac place seemed quiet enough though, but the ghoul kept his guard up nonetheless.

Inside the motel, an elderly woman standing behind the desk smiled warmly at the group and said, "Well, welcome to you. You all look tired from the road. Why don't you relax a spell and let this fine town take care of you."

"We aren't here for long, señora. I'm looking for a man in a checkered coat. Have you seen anyone like that?" Carmen asked.

"He might've been wearing a fancy outfit, but he wasn't any sort of gentleman to me. Had his nose stuck up in the air so high, you couldn't see it above the clouds. City folk...they always think they deserve better than they've got. Those...hoodlums he was with seemed to know Manny for some reason. He's our daytime sniper, up in the dinosaur's mouth. Boone is our nighttime guy, and he's taking the watch right about now," the old woman explained. "My name is Jeannie May. I run this motel."

"Damn it, we missed him," Carmen hissed.

"Will you be renting any rooms? A hundred caps a night," Jeannie May said.

Ava turned to Charon, who nodded, and Ava quickly counted out the number of rooms they would all need. "All right, we need three rooms please," she said, counting out the caps in her pack. She faced the group and said, "Carmen, a room for you and Raul. MacCready, you can stay with Desmond in the other...Nova and Gob can stay with us."

Gob and Charon both smirked at the same time as Ava wriggled her brow with a sultry smile. The group walked outside and through the rickety gates. Charon decided that at least this particular evening wouldn't be so bad...especially because it was apparent that Ava had a little something up her sleeve. The ghoul placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I'm going up to the dinosaur...see if that Boone character can tell me anything about this Manny. You guys can head over to the rooms," said Charon.

"I'll go with you amigo," Raul said, walking over to Charon.

The pair walked off towards the dinosaur and Charon shouted over his shoulder, "By the way MacCready, you're grounded, so get your ass up to that room right now!"

MacCready groaned and looked to Ava for help but she shook her head with a smile. "We're all just heading to bed anyway, R.J., you're not missing out on anything."

"Why is Pops being such a hard ass with me?" MacCready asked when Charon and Raul disappeared inside of the dinosaur building.

"I'll talk to him about it if you'd like," Ava said gently.

"Fuck it, don't bother," MacCready snapped. "He won't fuckin' listen to you when it concerns me anyways."

Ava winced and MacCready raced up the steps to his room, slamming the door behind him. The tension between MacCready and Charon had slowly been growing since they left the Capital Wasteland. Ava didn't really worry about it though; all kids had their rebellious phase around MacCready's age. She sure did.

"So," Carmen said, interrupting the silence. "You guys wanna play some Caravan?"

* * *

Charon and Raul walked up the interior of the dinosaur building and through a door that lead to its mouth. Outside, a man holding a sniper rifle turned to the opening door and raised his brow at the ghouls. Charon was the first to speak and held out his hand to the man wearing a military style beret.

"My name is Charon," he said, "and this is Raul."

The man took their hands and shook them firmly. "Next time, don't sneak up on me like that. Name's Craig Boone."

"Expecting someone?" Charon asked.

"Yeah, I am. But not like you...maybe it should have been you I was expecting all along. Why are you here?" Boone asked.

"If you're looking for someone in particular, I could tip you off if I see them," Charon said.

Boone raised a brow at Charon and said, "If you see any of Caesar's soldiers...let me know. You still haven't answered my question."

"I need to know about your daytime sniper, Manny," Charon said. "He may know someone we're after."

Boone looked around for a moment and said, "I know who you're talking about. That asshole in the checkered coat is the one you're after, I'm guessing. I might tell you what I need to know, you wouldn't even need to bother Manny, but I need help with something. You're a stranger...that's a start."

"You only trust strangers?" Raul asked. "That's a little weird if you ask me."

"It's just...no one in this town looks me in the eye anymore...I need strangers to help me," Boone said.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Charon asked. It was the same out West like it was back home: everything had a price.

"I want you to find something out for me...I don't know if there's anyway for you to do it, but I need you to try. My wife was taken from our home one night by Legion slavers when I was on watch. They knew when to come and what route to take, and they only took my Carla. Someone set it up. I don't know who," Boone explained.

"So you're trying to track down your wife?" Charon asked. There was a tightening in his chest; The slavers at Paradise Falls tried to pull that shit with his children, and now they were nothing more than bones bleached white by the sun.

"My wife is dead," said Boone. "I want the son of a bitch who sold her."

Charon smiled and said, "I know a silver-tongued devil that could help you out with this...and believe me, no one is better at getting information than she is. Come with us, and I will tell you a little bit about why we are here."

* * *

"This is the most idiotic fucking card game ever!" Ava shouted.

"Maybe you're just not smart enough to keep up with the rules, Princess," Carmen sneered. "I've explained them seven times already!"

Ava had lost her tenth game of Caravan to Carmen and was quickly losing her patience, both for the game and the Courier. Nova, Gob, and Desmond watched in complete amusement as Ava jabbed a finger into Carmen's face and shouted, "You're cheating, you drugged out bitch!"

Carmen slapped Ava's hand away and Ava reared back and punched her in the jaw. Carmen grabbed for Ava's hair in a most typical, girly fashion, and they tumbled to floor, cards flying as they screamed and swore loudly.

"I don't know about you guys, but this shit is bloody fuckin' hot," said Desmond with a grin.

"Fuck yeah it is," muttered Gob.

"Fifty caps on Ava," Nova announced, reaching for her pack and counting out the small metal bottle caps.

"Same wager, but I'll bet that Charon or Raul come walking through the door and break them up before we can see who would win," Gob said, sifting for his own caps in his pocket.

"And I'll bet that the Mexican bird beats the crap out of Ava and they'll be half naked at the end of it all," said Desmond. He tossed the caps on the table and the three of them watched the girls go at it.

"Come mierda!" screamed Carmen as Ava pinned her to the carpet by her shoulder. She whipped her hand across Ava's face and let out a snarl. Ava's fist plummeted into Carmen's stomach and she tried to stand, but the Courier was fast. She stood up and dove for Ava's knees as the vault girl readied herself for a kick and knocked her to the floor.

"Get her with a right hook, Carmen my dear!" Desmond said with excitement in his voice.

"Shut up!" Gob and Nova shouted together.

The door to the hotel room opened and everyone looked up to see Charon, Raul, and a man none of them had ever met stroll in. Charon's eye fell to Ava and he shook his head in annoyance.

"YES! I WIN! FORK OVER THOSE CAPS!" Gob shouted, fisting the air.

"This is Craig Boone. Ex-NCR sniper. He needs assistance with something in exchange for information about the man who tried to kill Carmen," Charon announced.

Ava, Carmen, and Nova's jaws dropped in unison at the sight of the sniper and Nova bravely said what they were all thinking.

"Good lord, he's beautiful," Nova whispered. Ava and Carmen both nodded and smiled stupidly as Gob, Charon, and Desmond growled loudly.

Boone smirked and gave the girls a wave. The three women waved back and Nova sat up straight, trying her best to smooth her hair into place. Charon crossed his arms angrily and stared at his wife, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"The one on the floor with the dark hair is my wife, leader of the Outcasts, Protector Ava Flint. The other one is the courier I told you about, Carmen," said Charon.

"Good to meet you all," said Boone with a curt nod. He gave Ava a small grin that she returned and Charon cleared his throat. He hoped he wouldn't regret this.

"Boone needs to find the person who sold his wife to Legion slavers. That person lives in this town, but he doesn't want them to find out that he knows. Ava, this is where you come in. Find out who did this and when you do...Boone, go ahead. Tell her the rest of your plan," Charon said.

Boone took off his beret and handed it to Ava. "When you find out who did it, lead them in front of the dinosaur during my shift. Put on my beret and I'll handle the rest. Now, I need to head back. I've been away for too long."

Boone nodded politely and his glance lingered on Ava before he stepped outside, walking back to his post.

Raul shook his head and helped Carmen to her feet. "Boss, I told you not to pester Ava. She's helping you, helping us."

Carmen looked away, her face now a rich shade of red and she pressed herself into Raul's chest. He patted her back and kissed the top of her head with a smile. Desmond met his gaze and smiled as well, but Raul bared his teeth at the vulgar ghoul who wanted nothing more than to get inside his adoptive daughter's pants.

Desmond sighed. If he wanted a chance at Carmen, he needed to make nice with the old man, and Boone was certainly no help. This would be something he needed to sleep on. A clear head was better for making a workable plan. Perhaps something would present itself when the time came.

"I'm going to bed. Good luck with Boone, and let me know how it goes in the morning," said Desmond, patting Charon's shoulder before leaving.

Charon helped Ava to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist, unsure of the exchange between her and Boone. He had to trust her though. He had to trust that she would not leave him for every good looking smoothskin that they encountered, and with that though firmly planted in his mind, he pushed the other away as he buried his face into her hair. Ava kissed his scarred cheek and he smiled at her. He had nothing to worry about.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll head off to bed to bed too," said Raul. "These old bones need some rest, before my arthritis starts actin' up."

The old ghoul walked out after Desmond and Carmen followed him, rubbing her tired eyes. Their room was next to Ava and Charon's, and Carmen wearily walked in. Raul paused at the doorway, staring at Desmond intently who had stopped to smoke a cigarette. The Courier flopped onto the small bed, kicking off her boots and burrowing beneath the blankets with a satisfied grin.

"You comin' to bed, Viejo?" Carmen asked.

"En un minuto...yo quiero hablar con Desmond," Raul muttered.

"What the fuck for? He's an asshole," Carmen said sleepily.

"I'll be right back, Boss," said Raul.

The old ghoul closed the door and strolled over to Desmond, resting his weathered hand on his revolver. Desmond eyed him, and gave his gun a fleeting glance before chuckling to himself and flashing his own SMG hidden beneath his leather trench coat.

"Oye, don't think I didn't notice the looks you've been giving Carmen," Raul snarled.

"She's grown..." Desmond said carefully.

"I'll tell you this right now: if you do anything to hurt her, I'll fucking kill you. She's the only person I care about in this world. She's like a daughter to me...and I won't hesitate to shoot you," Raul said.

"I've killed more fuckers than you ever have. You're not a challenge for me. Killing you would be a fuckin' piece of cake, so don't come over here and threaten me," Desmond said.

Raul gave Desmond a venomous smile and whispered, "You're fucking with the wrong guy. Stay away from Carmen and we won't have a problem. The last thing she needs is an asshole like you in her life. She's got enough mierda on her plate without you adding to it."

"Won't stop me from trying," said Desmond.

"Carmen is too good for the likes of you," said Raul.

Desmond flicked his cigarette off the balcony and smiled. "We'll see about that. That crazy bird's got somethin' I like, and I'm not talkin' about her rack. Piss off."

"Your funeral," said Raul.

The old ghoul walked into his room and sat on the bed beside Carmen. He pat her leg and smiled down at her. He had lost it all once, but gained something back when Carmen freed him from Tabitha's clutches that one eventful day. Carmen was the light of life, and he wanted the best for her. In his tired eyes, Carmen was the daughter he never had, and ever since he met her, her battered and still smoking 10mm pistol clutched in her hands and jet-filled eyes full of craze, he promised himself that he would watch over her until the day he died.

Carmen opened her brown eyes and whispered, "You didn't threaten that tool, did you?"

"I did," he admitted.

Carmen laughed and rolled over onto her stomach, wrapping a too thin arm around his waist. "You didn't have to do that, Viejo. I can handle him just fine."

"Didn't hurt to throw in my two cents," Raul said with a groan as leaned against the headboard.

"You're the best. Did I ever tell you that?" she asked.

"Maybe once or twice," Raul teased.

"He's kind of hot though," Carmen said, her voice muffled from the pillow pressing against her face.

"Aye dios mio," Raul groaned, sinking into the bed. "Don't tell me that, Boss."

"But he is!" said Carmen, her laughter ringing out.

"Just be careful. Charon told me he's a ladies man," he warned.

"It's not like I'm going to bone him...just sayin', he's hot," she said.

Raul pulled her pillow from under her face and placed under his own head. She would have to learn on her own, just like any child would. And as a father, he had to let her do it. He just hoped everything would turn out for the best.

* * *

Ava walked through the town, whistling a tune she heard on the radio earlier. Gob and Nova said they would wait for her and Charon in their room, and Charon had gone up to the sniper nest to wait with Boone. She didn't like the look her ghoul had given her when she met Boone. It was going to be something he would bring up later but for now, she concentrated on the task at hand. Helping Boone and Carmen would lead her closer to her prey...and she was anxious to get everything done so that they could all just go home.

She headed for the large tent where the town of Novac had a bar of sorts, and most of the townspeople had gathered there for a drink before heading off to bed. They all greeted her warmly as she took a seat on a bar stool and ordered a beer.

"You don't look like you're from these parts," said a woman in doctor's fatigues.

"I'm not. I came here with my army," Ava said. The townspeople grew silent and she smiled. "We're looking for a certain group of people. Don't worry, you guys aren't them. They come from California, but their last stronghold is somewhere in these parts."

The townspeople sighed with relief and Ava had to laugh. Even though she was alone, she was safe. Charon had a knack for being able to hear her scream for help wherever he was. If she was ever overwhelmed, she knew she could count on him.

"So how do you all keep this town running?" Ava asked.

"We usually head over to REPCONN and scavenge. There's a lot of things worth money over there, and traders will pay a pretty cap or two for those things. Ever since those feral ghouls took over though, we haven't been able to get in. Things look bad," said a man sitting beside Ava.

"If I have time, I'll give it look. I don't have problems with ghouls...my husband leads an entire army of them, and one of his officers has a group of feral ghouls himself. Shouldn't be a problem," said Ava.

The townspeople looked impressed, and Ava had them all right where she needed them. This was almost too easy for her. Give the people what they need, and suddenly, she wasn't a fearsome stranger; she was their new best friend.

"I met Boone tonight," Ava began. "He spoke about his wife...sounds like he misses her, poor guy."

"I didn't speak to her much. Boone did most of the buying for them. She was only in my store once, but she didn't stay long. Had a look on her face like she had smelled something sour, but as far as I can remember, the gift shop smelled fine. Well...fine as it always does," said the man beside Ava.

Another man, wearing a uniform Ava had never seen before said, "Carla was a knockout, like you. Whenever Boone walked around with her, he always had this funny grin on his face like he couldn't believe his own luck."

Ava grinned. Charon had a smirk just like that, except he also had an added swagger in his step, one that said, "Fuck with her and you'll have to deal with me."

The man in the uniform continued, taking a sip from his glass. "We couldn't believe it either. That wasn't the only reason she stuck out though. That girl never minced words. If she had better food or hospitality, she'd let you hear it. Trouble was, she usually had. I don't think she meant it...she really was a sweet girl, I just think she wanted to remind herself that there are still nicer places than Novac. Who could blame her for that?"

"Jeannie May did," shouted one old man with disheveled clothes. "I seen what happened that night!"

The townspeople groaned and the man in the uniform mumbled, "Not this shit again, No-Bark. Just stay quiet, for once!" Ava glanced at the uniformed man with an arched brow. He shook his head and said, "No-Bark is a lot of talk, and half of the shit he talks about don't make any damn sense. Just ignore him."

No-Bark grabbed Ava's hand and whispered, "I seen shadowy folk come ter his room that night. One of 'em went into the lobby...could be that person went in ter get somethin'...or use the john maybe. Mighty interesting, either way. I thought they was cannibals, comin' ter eat us all fer sure, so I kept outta sight...but now I know better."

Even though he was beginning to ramble, Ava could tell what he had said was the very thing she needed. No one trusts the old, crazy guys...but those people are the ones you can trust the most sometimes, because they see the things normal people refused to see.

"Who was it?" Ava asked.

"Molerat men...come up from the Underneath to steal young women with promises of riches and fancy mud mansions with all the latest designer appliances! They covet our lady folk's long hair for wigs it's said, being either bald or balding themselves," he whispered.

The townspeople laughed and Ava shook her head. There was truth in No-Bark's words...she just had to work around them and find out what they meant for herself. She bid the townspeople a good night and headed for the motel lobby. There was one person she needed to speak to now, and that person was walking towards her right now.

"Hello again, Jeannie May," Ava said with a grin. "I met Boone earlier tonight, and the folks over by the tent told me a bit about his wife. It's a shame, isn't it? A man losing his wife like that."

Jeannie May crossed her arms and said, "Yes, poor dear. He hasn't been the same since. I know he thinks she's been kidnapped, but I think she just took up and left. You could tell she didn't want to be here."

"Tell me about her. I heard she was beautiful," said Ava.

"How should I put it...she was like a cactus flower. Real pretty to look at, but there was just no getting' close to her. She never did take to livin' here. She liked the big lights and fast pace of New Vegas. I got the feeling she was trying to get Boone to leave with her, but I guess she got tired of waiting. She thought she was too good for a quaint little town like ours, and she always made a point to rub it in our faces that she has had better," Jeannie May explained with a sneer. "I'd tell you more about her, but I'm heading off to bed. Good night, and enjoy your stay."

Ava watched the old woman walk to her home down the street and darted into the lobby when she was out of sight. Behind the front desk was a safe built into the floor. Ava pulled a bobby pin free from her hair and grabbed a screwdriver from her pocket. She carefully picked the lock and the safe was cracked within second. Ava dug through the contents of the safe and picked up a bill of sale...a bill of sale for Carla...and her unborn child. Ava clutched her throat...that old bitch sold a pregnant Carla to slavers. Ava pocketed the paper and all the caps in the safe as well. Where Jeannie May was headed, she wouldn't need the caps, and Ava would be damned if she gave any money to someone who worked with slavers.

Ava tore down the streets and banged her fist on the door of Jeannie May's house. The old woman opened the door and Ava flashed her a devilish smile.

"Did you need somethin' dear?" asked Jeannie May.

"There's something you have to see in front of the dinosaur...it'll be great for your business," Ava said. "People will come in from all over to stay at your motel."

"All right, if you think it's worth looking at then let's go," said the old woman.

Ava and Jeannie May walked slowly through the streets, hatred burning throughout Ava's chest. She couldn't believe someone so frail and seemingly sweet could be capable of selling someone to slavers. When Gallows had tried to do the same to her children, it didn't really surprise her. Gallows was a cold, sinister man. Jeannie May, however, looked like she didn't have one mean bone in her body. It just made her and her actions more disgusting to Ava, and she was glad to have found the bill in the safe. They were almost at the spot that Charon had pointed out to her and they came to a stop a few moments later.

"So, what do you have to show me?" Jeannie May asked.

Ava pulled out Boone's beret and the bill of sale, unfolding it and holding it out to the elderly woman. Jeannie May's face flushed scarlet and Ava grinned darkly.

"You're a fucking sick person," Ava hissed. "You knew she was pregnant...and you still did it."

"She wanted to take Boone away from Novac! He's the best man we have, and Carla didn't deserve someone as good as him! She was a stuck up city girl who thought she was better than everyone around her!" Jeannie May snapped.

"Well, you got one part of that rant correct," said Ava as she smoothed out the beret. "I didn't have to know Carla to know she was a better person than you."

Ava placed the beret on her head and a shot pierced the night, blowing Jeannie May's head off her shoulders and showering Ava with a mist of blood. She spat out and wiped her face with her sleeve before waving towards the sniper nest. Two tall figures waved back and Ava strolled back to town, thoroughly satisfied with what she had done. Another evil bastard, wiped off the map.


	5. Scattered Clothes

**Yeah...this chapter is a bit smutty...I couldn't help it. I wanted to show a bit more about the relationship between Ava, Charon, Gob, and Nova. They're an odd bunch, but hopefully, this chapter shows how much they all care for each other. Thanks to DaLover (I'm glad you like my stories and that you've followed them from the beginning) and gklh910 for flattering me and making me blush so very much with both your reviews and your shout outs. I didn't touch on Boone (tee-hee) much in this chapter, but I promise the next one will be very much filled with him (another tee-hee). Enjoy guys!**

* * *

Gob couldn't look at her. He been feigning interest in a magazine he found on the table for the past hour and he could barely hear Nova singing sweetly in the shower. Steam billowed into the motel room as he listened to her voice, her clothes discarded on the floor in front of the bathroom. He had never thought highly of himself, and now with Boone in the picture, what little self-esteem he had garnered was withering away with each minute that ticked off the clock on the wall of the room. He couldn't blame the girls for gawking...but Nova had been the only one who mumbled what she truly thought. He could see the momentary jealousy flash before Charon's eye, but it had dissipated just as quickly. Charon had been in his shoes before, when Ava and he were apart and she was frolicking through the Capital Wasteland with McGraw. When Boone entered the room and stared at Ava, she did not react as strongly as Nova did...and his bond with Nova was nowhere near Charon and Ava's. Charon was god's gift to both men and women alike...so what was he? How could he ever compare to Charon or to Boone; both men skilled in fighting and both better looking than he?

Charon and Ava burst through the door, startling Gob, who threw the magazine up in the air. The larger ghoul wasted no time in unbuckling Ava's armor with authoritative hands and he did so until she was wearing nothing but the skin over her bones.

"Ava...got our information...celebration...I need all of you...right now!" Charon panted with heavy breaths. He picked up Ava over his shoulder and tossed her small frame on the bed with a growl. "Gob, you better be as naked as she is by the time I come back in here."

Charon threw his gear on the floor and growled loudly before stomping towards the bathroom. Ava scrambled across the bedsheets as they bunched up around her bare legs and grabbed Gob by the neck of his shirt, yanking him off the chair and tried to tear it off his chest.

Nova shrieked loudly as Charon pulled the curtains off the shower rod with a snarl. "Jesus, Charon! Somethin' good must have happened!"

Charon pulled her naked body into his arms and his mouth found her neck. Nova giggled loudly as he bit down on her wet skin and her hands found the buckle of his belt. He rarely kissed Nova's lips when they all went to bed, but in all of the excitement, he allowed himself to. His hands cradled her face as their mouths met and he groaned before pulling away.

"Ava found the information for Boone, and he has agreed to help us," Charon said with a gasp as Nova wrapped her fingers around his length.

Ava pulled Gob's shirt over his head and laughed at the sounds coming from the bathroom. Gob did not fight her off...in fact, he barely reacted to her touch, but it just made Ava more desperate with need.

"C'mon Gobbie, help me out here...your fucking belt...every time, I swear, I can't undo it as fast as Nova or Charon can," Ava whispered.

"Hun, I just don't-" Gob began, but was cut short when Ava's mouth crushed his. He kissed her back feverishly, his burnt hands tangling themselves with Ava's long locks. Ava, at least, wanted him and she had made it very clear when she guided his fingers towards her most pleasurable spot. She groaned into his ear, encouraging his hand to move faster and he obliged.

Charon staggered into the room, his pants around his ankles and Nova with her legs wrapped around his waist. Gob pulled away from Ava and stood up, his own pants sagging around his hips. For a moment, he had forgotten that Nova was here with them and he felt his jealousy and rage boil anew. Charon sat down at the foot of the bed and grinned as Nova sank to her knees in front of him. The larger ghoul lay down on the bed and grabbed Ava's arm, pulling her closer to his face so he could kiss her. Her mouth tasty vaguely of beer, but there was something about the sugary sweetness that kept his lips locked onto hers. His massive hand drifted over the sheets and found Gob's calf. He dragged his nails down his skin and Gob shuddered. Gob turned his head and saw Ava's naked body crawl over Charon's as the girls began to work him up with their mouths.

Ava noticed Gob's hesitation and abandoned Nova, leaving her to deal with a riled up Charon on her own. She crawled over to him with a smile that Gob only briefly returned. Gob couldn't concentrate for the life of him. He stared at the peeling wallpaper of the motel room and barely noticed Ava's lips on his shoulder blade. He was empty. Ava frowned; Gob was never this quiet when they all went to bed. She turned Gob to face her and kissed his bottom lip as gently as she could, but he did not return her affections. Instead, he scooted towards the edge of the bed and rested his head in his hands. Ava leaned back and poked Charon's ribs. Her ghoul looked up, his hand still resting on the back of Nova's head and saw Ava point to Gob with a frown.

She held up both hands in confusion and shrugged, silently mouthing the words, "What's wrong?"

A rough hand clamped down on Gob's bare thigh and his head snapped up, meeting Charon's concerned gaze.

"You...all right?" Charon grunted. The larger ghoul glanced down at his lap and mumbled, "Nova...give it a rest for a second please."

Nova rested her chin on Charon's knee, her wavy hair falling over her eyes. Something was up with Gob tonight, though she couldn't put her finger on it. He barely spoke while Ava and Charon were off dealing with Boone, and she just assumed he was tired. Something inside her gut made her think otherwise now.

"Nothing's wrong," Gob muttered. He didn't want to ruin everyone's good time. It was a time for celebration. With every bit of information they got for Carmen, they were closer to finding the men who shot her and in turn, closer to finding the Brotherhood of Steel.

"Bull," Ava said. "Do you need something else tonight? I think you need a rougher set of hands is all."

Gob shrugged his shoulders and Charon leaned back onto the bed, grabbing Gob's arm and smirked at his friend. "If you wanted me, you should have said so," he said, out of breath.

Charon glanced at Nova who had climbed onto the bed, concern filling her eyes and Ava hugged her. He scooted over to Gob and pulled him into his chest. He wanted everyone to be happy, including Gob. If he wasn't having a good time, then it would all be for nothing.

"Just tell me what you want and I will gladly do it tonight," Charon growled into his ear. "You and I could take one of the girls, I know you like that."

For the first time, Gob clung to him, pressing his face into the crook of Charon's neck. Charon was the only one picking up on his shit mood, and he was grateful to have his as his best friend. He just wanted to be alone, but being with Charon was good enough right now. It was better than looking into Nova's face and wondering if she was fantasizing about Boone instead of him. The thought of it made him sick to the core.

The larger ghoul frowned and held Gob away just enough to look into his eyes. "Something is wrong. Spill it," Charon said.

"I-I can't do this right now. You three go ahead, I'm going outside for a smoke," Gob muttered. He stood up and grabbed his pants off the floor, stepping into them and grabbing a pack of cigarettes off the desk before walking through the door.

"What the hell?" Ava whispered. "Nova, what happened while we were gone?"

"Nothing happened, I swear! I was talking to him about how happy I was that you two are starting to let me come along and how I'm getting really good at spotting things that are far away but he wouldn't talk. He just read that magazine and I ended up getting in the shower. I thought he was beat from our trip," Nova explained. "I'm going to talk to him."

Charon held out a hand and shook his head. "No. I'll do it. You're right, Ava. He needed me, but not like that. I'll be back in a bit. Don't have too much fun girls. I'll sort this out."

Outside, Gob hung over the balcony with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Charon stood beside him and rubbed his hand over Gob's bare back. He tried to find the right words that would bring Gob out of his shell and mumbled, "You know...you can speak freely with me, right Gob? I care for you, just as much as I care for Ava. Did you know that?"

"Of course I do. You're the only man that...well, you know. I trust you," Gob said, his face burning a bit.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you just going to stand out here like a frightened little molerat?" Charon asked. Gob couldn't help but stare up at the sniper nest with a hateful look and Charon nodded. "Ah, of course. I apologize for not noticing before. Boone concerns you? Because of the girl's behavior earlier today?"

Gob nodded and said, "Even though he stared at Ava the most...Nova was the only one who said something. Why did it have to be her, Charon? I lucked out when I met Nova. You don't have anything to worry about with Ava, but I...have everything to worry about. I'm not you...and I'm sure as shit not him."

"You think I'm not worried?" Charon asked. "Another Smoothskin may challenge me for the heart of my wife, and it does have me a bit unnerved. But I must trust Ava, because without it, we have nothing. So what if Nova said something? They are allowed to look and you cannot stand there and tell me with a straight face that you didn't do a double take at the sight of Carmen, because I did."

Gob grinned up at Charon and chuckled. "I never thought I'd be getting advice on women from you. You're right of course. I looked."

Charon coughed out a laugh and said, "You know, I was winging the whole thing and silently praying that some of it made sense."

"It's pretty good...but I'm still pissed," Gob admitted.

"You know what I do when Ava pisses me off?" Charon said with a devilish gleam in his eye.

"Nope, but I hope you tell me," said Gob. This side of Charon was Gob's favorite...the nasty, 'I will gut your ass, roll around in your blood and fuck your corpse' side.

"If she pisses me off enough and her apology just doesn't cut it, I push her down on our bed for our usual make-up, and if she isn't the sorriest girl in the entire desert...I'll make sure she's the sorest," he replied with an arrogant grin.

"I like how you think," Gob said, standing up straight. It was exactly what he needed to hear.

"So why don't you walk in there...and show our girls what you can do?" Charon said, giving Gob a gentle shove towards the door of their room. "Show them...and me...how much of a man you are, to the point that we'll think of no one else."

Gob puffed out his chest and turned the handle of the door. He found Ava and Nova both bundled up in the sheets, arguing quietly. He knew they were talking about him, but it didn't matter anymore. Like Charon said: all he had to do was show them what he was made of, and he sure as hell could do it. The girls looked up and watched Gob pull his belt from the loops of Charon's pants. He snapped the worn leather in his hands and smiled as the girls jumped at the sound.

"I think you girls need to be taught a lesson," Gob announced.

"Oh, Gob!" Nova shouted, clapping her hands happily. This was a day she had been waiting for. She knew Gob had it in him to take charge.

"Good man," Charon murmured.

Gob snapped his head back and peered up into Charon's face with a smirk that was very unlike him. "Don't think you're spared from this, Charon."

Charon raised his brow and just when Gob was about to back away and mutter an apology, he said, "Fine with me. I just hope they get it worse."

The sun was bright and relentless the next day as Desmond chatted with a man who said he was a Ranger in some sort of military group called the New California Republic. Charon, Gob, Carmen and Raul all sat around him making small talk with some of the other townspeople. There was something up with Gob...the way he was strolling about the courtyard of the motel was like he suddenly grew a huge pair overnight. MacCready was playing a game of catch with the silent Boone, the sniper only speaking up to mutter something MacCready could improve on with his throw or that he had made a particularly good catch. Desmond hated that Boone asshole. Guys like him made it harder for him to get a good lay with smoothskins, and that shit was already difficult enough.

A door slammed and Desmond picked up his head, shielding his eyes from the burning sun, and watch with a laugh as Ava and Nova hobbled down the stairs.

"What the hell did you do to them, Charon?" Desmond asked.

"I didn't do anything..." Charon said. He noticed Boone drop the baseball that MacCready just tossed him when Ava came walking towards them, holding Nova's hand, and grunted with displeasure at the sight. "Gob did."

"Ohhhh..." said Carmen with a grin. "So _that's _what all that moaning, groaning, and shouting was about last night."

"Kept me up half the night," mumbled Raul. This group Carmen decided they would travel with...they were interesting all right.

"Sorry, old man. We'll, uh, try to keep it down next time," Charon said. The ghouls laughed, clinking their glasses of water against each other. Carmen adjusted the odd, wolf pelt headdress she wore and pulled a pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes. Something about it jogged Charon's memory...he had seen it before.

Nova broke out into a run and jumped into Gob's lap, kissing his face roughly and the ghoul's hands hooked onto the loops of her pants. Charon was right: by the end of the night, Nova had passed out from sheer exhaustion on his bare chest.

"I can do better," Desmond said, winking at Carmen. Raul shook his head in disgust and bummed a cigarette from Charon's pack.

"Just because you have a mustache only guys in dirty magazines have, doesn't make you any good in bed, asshole," Carmen sneered.

"I'll have you know, this mustache has given the greatest fuckin' rides the world has ever seen!" Desmond snapped, a bit insulted. Carmen laughed, satisfied that she got the first insult on Desmond for the day.

Ava finally made it to the group, taking a moment to ruffle her son's hair and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the headdress Carmen wore. "What...what the fuck is that you're wearing, Carmen?"

"Oh, this? I nicked off of this Legion soldier named Vulpes or some shit...shot him in both knee caps when Raul and I were exploring a few hours before you and your army showed up. I plopped this thing right on my head...and then Raul shot him in the face. It was great! Blood and brains everywhere!" said Carmen. "What, did you think I was some Legion soldier, Princess Vaultie?"

Charon stood up and grabbed Ava's arms before she could react to Carmen's jab. "It is too damn early for you two to be fighting like children. Ava and I met Vulpes when our army first arrived in New Vegas. They had just destroyed an entire town and slaughtered nearly everyone in it. It was just a shock to see it again."

"Understood, but she doesn't need to get all worked up over it," said Carmen with a nod towards Ava.

"Well, I would say we can all leave for our next stop, but Ava decided to rope us into one little job of clearing a building filled with feral ghouls down the road for this town," said Charon. Ava may have grown colder over the years, but her need to help others out when they had nowhere else to turn to was still there. There was a miniscule fear that came up in his mind every so often when she would do something vicious...would she turn into an evil being? The very sort of person Charon had promised himself decades ago that he would cleanse the world of? It was times like these that gave him hope...hope that the love of his life would never turn into a monster.

"Hey, I made a promise. There might be some good loot we can pick up there," Ava replied as the group groaned around her.

The group gathered their weapons and packs and walked west down the streets of Novac, to the REPCONN test site, where a lone glowing one was already running towards them, his mouth agape with snarl.

Ava ignored it; Charon and Gob had already marched ahead of her with their shotguns held up to their shoulders and blasted it away into nothing. She brought out her radio and turned it on, searching for the right frequency...

"Royal here, the fuck do you want?" Roy Phillips' voice snarled over the radio.

"Good morning to you too, asshole. How are my precious little children?" Ava asked in a sickly sweet tone.

"Loud, obnoxious, and messy. Same as always," he answered.

"Charon!" Ava called out. "Roy says our kids are annoying him!"

"Good!" Charon answered over his shoulder.

"Did ya hear that, Roy?" Ava asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard his smug ass. I bet he tells those damn kids of yours to annoy me on purpose. Anyway, Ashur found this...it used to be a prison or some shit, but he and the other Pitt Raiders killed off everyone there. Apparently, they were a bunch of prisoners that killed all the guards in some rebellion. We were going to take over the place if that's all right with you and the Battlemaster. It's fortified better than Tenpenny Tower was, I shit you not. Fuckin' four sniper towers, two separate barbed wire fences, the whole nine."

Ava heard one of the men snarl and shoot another feral ghoul that came running from over the hill as they marched. "Sounds perfect, go ahead and set up camp there," she said, her voice calm. "We'll let you know when we're on our way back; you can give us coordinates then...we're kind of busy now..."

A reaver jumped out of the bushes towards Carmen and Ava pulled out her Blackhawk, shooting his head off his soldiers before Carmen could even point her own gun at it. Ava gave her a sneer and brushed past her and Raul, twirling the .44 magnum in her hand like a toy. That old raider armor Carmen wore wouldn't protect shit against a reaver. They'd have to find her something better to wear later on.

"You're a sick piece of work, Ava," Roy's voice said.

"I hear that almost every day," Ava replied with a grin.


	6. My Baby's Up In A Rocket Machine

**Many thanks to DeathSidhe**, **DaLover, and gklh910 for your reviews and helpful input! I was kinda miffed at the fact that Ava's army had no place to claim, but I was playing the game and was wandering through the old prison (after annihilating all of the Powder Gangers in it and it just hit me. You'll see what they've all done to the place in the next chapter. Enjoy this chapter though, it's a long one (and one of my favorite missions in New Vegas)!**

**Also, I'd like to point out that gklh910 has a wonderful sequel up to her story, "Hired Help." Go check it out!  
**

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Along the way towards REPCONN, Boone had explained to the Outcasts and Carmen everything Manny had told him about the man in the checkered coat. Benny was his name, and his goons were just some Great Khans he hired. They were on their way to a place called Boulder City, north on a road called I-93. He also told them that Manny used to run with the Khans until the NCR gave him a greater purpose. Carmen's fist balled up upon learning Benny's name, and Ava recognized the livid look on her face. It was all too familiar, and Ava realized that they both had more in common than she once thought.

Now, Ava stared at the body of a ghoul on the ground before them. There were gaping wounds in his side, flesh torn away by something with incredible force. Nova's face wrinkled with disgust. This was what she got for begging to come along with them all. She knew she'd see death and destruction, but the sight of a ghoul's body was horrible for her, almost too much to face. She pressed her face into Gob's shoulder and her held her tightly, whispering comfort into her ear. Within a few moments, she had collected herself and shot Gob a grateful smile.

"What are these robes he's wearing?" Carmen asked.

"I've never seen them before...some sort of cult I guess," said Boone.

MacCready nudged the fallen ghoul with his foot and Charon's hand swatted the back of his head with a nasty growl. Ava winced and covered her eyes with her hand. Did MacCready really have to piss off his father right now?

"Do not be so disrespectful! I have taught you better!" Charon snarled.

"Geez, Pops...sorry," MacCready sneered.

"Watch your tone. You're beginning to push me too far, little boy," Charon said with a raised brow.

"Little boy? Who the fuck are you calling a 'little boy'? I'm seventeen now, how the fuck am I a little boy? I didn't even do anything! Boone, did I do something wrong?" MacCready asked the sniper.

Boone turned away from the sight and said, "You should listen to your father. He knows more than you."

The sniper stared at Ava from behind his aviators and smiled. A hardened leader of an entire army, and drop dead gorgeous on top of that. Ava's resemblance to Carla had shocked him, but Ava and she were very different. Besides the fact that Ava was not blonde, Ava also had a different sort of fire inside of her. She didn't need anyone to survive, not even the ghoul she chose as her husband. Her wit and clever mind were much sharper than Carla's as well. Ava...was one hell of a woman. He didn't know how he could ever repay her for finding out who sold Carla off to Caesar's Legion. Her ivy colored eyes found his and a comforting warmth flooded his chest when she returned the smile. If she could run her army and still have a family, it gave him hope that one day he could do the same.

"Yeah, and he reminds me every chance he gets!" MacCready snapped.

"Oh Jesus, here it fucking goes," Desmond mumbled with a roll of his eyes. Carmen cocked her head curiously and he said, "This is why I was always careful enough to never have any bloody children."

Nova backed away from MacCready and stood beside Gob, who announced in a low voice, "And Charon flips his shit in three...two...-"

"You're god damn right I know more than you do! I should send your ass back to camp, and if I wasn't so worried about the trouble you'd get into going all that way by yourself, I would have done it already!" Charon bellowed.

Ava slumped against a pillar with a groan. MacCready and Charon had been fighting more and more, and she was positive it had gotten worse since they arrived in the Mojave desert. Most of the time, she sided with Charon but there were moments when she thought he was indeed being unreasonable with MacCready. It was never a good thing when two worlds like theirs collided. Raul placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her kindly.

"The joys of being a parent," he said in a soft voice.

"Oh, and what a pain in my ass they are," Ava replied.

MacCready scowled and said, "Uncle Gob, back me up here? Pops is being a dick right now!"

"Hell no, you're on your own with this, kid. Your aunt and I are staying far away from this one," said Gob, raising his hands.

"Can we PLEASE just finish up here?" Ava shouted, shoving herself between her son and her furious husband.

Charon kicked open the doors of the REPCONN building and they all stood in silence, admiring the large model rocket hanging from the ceiling. Coffee cups and chairs were scattered behind the front desk as if whoever worked here had left in a hurry.

Ava pointed to a huge, purple body on the ground beside another dead ghoul with wide eyes. Gob bent down and inspected the larger body, pulling a stealth boy from its pockets. He tossed to Nova and she held it tightly. The body was similar to a super mutant's, but far larger. The body was cold, and Gob hoped that if there were anymore of these things...they were as dead as this one.

"If things get bad, use it, okay?" Gob whispered to his wife. She nodded and he kissed her cheek.

"I've never seen a super mutant like that back east," Charon muttered.

"It's a nightkin," Raul told him. "Way worse than a super mutant. Trust me. The place Carmen saved me from was crawling with them...nasty animals. Could tear you in half if they wanted to."

An intercom crackled and a gravely voice shouted out for their attention. Charon gripped his shotgun in his hands and looked over his shoulder at his two soldiers.

"Formation number six," he whispered. He didn't expect any intelligent life here, only the feral ghouls that were skittering about like rats. MacCready and Gob herded the three women behind Charon, and Desmond picked up the rear with a grunt.

"Who are you?" Ava asked, standing behind Charon with her hands on her hips. She swore Charon was only being protective because Boone was here. She didn't need him to baby her so incessantly, and now she could see why MacCready was getting so worked up lately.

"Don't worry about that. Go to the big room on the east side of the building and take the staircase all the way up. Hurry," said the raspy voice.

Another model rocket hung from the ceiling of the room they were told to go to, and several feral ghouls attacked the group. Ava ducked as one lashed out at her face and laughed when Charon grabbed it by the throat with a feral snarl that made theirs pale in comparison before he threw it across the room. Carmen hopped over the railing and skipped around, popping off a few shots at any feral ghoul in her sights and laughing as the wolf pelt head dress bobbed in time with her steps. When her feet found another nightkin corpse, she gleefully stomped on it with a shout.

"That bird is a wack job if I've ever seen one," Desmond said, nudging Raul's arm.

"The drugs don't help, I'll tell you that. I try my best to keep her away from them, but she manages to get her hands on them regardless," Raul replies.

Nova shuddered at the carnage around her. She didn't know how Ava ever got used to seeing all this. It made her realize how different the pair of them really were, and it certainly made more sense than ever why Ava and Charon got along so well. He and Ava were the only ones who were not cringing at the gorefest around them all. It was a walk through the park for the couple.

"Up the stairs, come on, let's get this over with," Charon muttered with an angry glance at his son. That boy would get what was coming to him soon enough, but first they had to finish their business here.

At the top of the stairs, Ava pressed a button on an intercom by a door and frowned as a scratchy voice answered, "All right, smoothskin. We're lettin' you and your little friends in but you better watch yourselves...because I'll sure as hell be watchin' you."

The door unlocked with a loud click and the group filed in, one by one, through the small door way. An older gentleman wearing a lab coat greeted them all, with a disgusted look directed at the Lone Wanderer. Ava's steps forward were paused, and she wondered what the hell she did exactly to warrant such a stare from this man she had never met.

"God, but you _are _ugly!" croaked the man...who's voice was eerily similar to the one on the intercom...he had called her a smoothskin...what the hell was he talking about? He was a smoothskin as well!

"Great, a bunch of nutters live here. Well done, Ava dear," Desmond said with another roll of his eyes.

Charon raised his brow and looked by his side, wondering if this man was really talking to his wife. Ava stood by his broad shoulders, looking as lovely as ever with her hair curling over her armor and bright, shining eyes. He looked back to the man and said with surprise, "Did you just call her ugly? Really? Her?"

"Yeah, her. Ugliest thing I've ever seen," said the man, nodding towards Ava.

"I believe you may need some glasses then," Charon replied with a shake of his head. His companions laughed quietly amongst themselves, and Ava appeared to be just as confused as Charon was.

"I'm not ugly..." she mumbled.

"Get upstairs and talk to Jason before I throw up from just looking at you," said the man. "He's waiting for you."

Ava tugged on Charon's hand and whispered, "What the fuck? You're not going to hit him or something? Did you hear what he just called me?"

Charon shrugged his shoulders and answered, "He's crazy. He speaks as if he's a ghoul. I'm not going to hit someone who is mentally challenged."

"And The Butcher is brought down with a stab at her pride!" Desmond cackled. Carmen joined in with his laughter and the two stifled their laughs with a glare from Ava.

"Shut...up..." Ava growled.

"I don't know if _you _know this, but...you're not a ghoul," said Boone.

The man threw his head back and laughed at Boone's words. "You're pranks won't work on me, smoothskin. Not on Jason, either."

"With that bald head of yours, you have more smooth skin than any of us here, old man," said MacCready. The group roared with laughter, and even Charon allowed himself to a chuckle, patting his son's head. At least MacCready was good for a laugh.

The Outcasts and the rest of their friends walked up the steps and found a Glowing One standing in front of several computers, surrounded by ghouls wearing the same robes they had found on the bodies outside this room. Nova and Carmen stared in awe at the ghoul...they had never seen a Glowing One who wasn't trying to tear their throats out. It was unnerving and strange to see him, wearing a brown suit so ragged it barely covered his glowing skin. Ava rested her hands on MacCready's shoulders, preventing him from getting too close to the one the other ghouls with robes called Jason.

The Glowing One turned to them and smiled, holding out his hand to Charon, who stood away from the group. "Hello Wanderers...please forgive our humble surroundings. Our true home awaits us in the Far Beyond."

"You know," Desmond whispered to Carmen, "I wish, more than ever, that I carried a sign with a picture of a screw and a baseball like they had in those old cartoons from Pre-war times...I think my arm would get tired of holding it up above the heads of all the crazies we end up meeting out here."

"And I would gladly hold it for you then," Carmen whispered. Desmond smiled until she added, "and then I'd be holding it above you all the time."

"I hate you," Desmond snarled under his breath.

"But you still want to get in mis pantalones...Screw Ball..." she said with a smirk. Raul and Boone snorted together. Carmen had refused to hold back on her attacks on Desmond since they met. Raul was proud of his little courier. She had a mouth on her and it made him smile and laugh since the day they had met themselves.

"Have you come to help us complete our Great Journey?" Jason asked, his voice slightly metallic sounding.

"Uh...possibly?" Ava said. "What is this...Great Journey and Far Beyond stuff about though?"

"I have glimpsed the Far Beyond only in visions. What I have seen is truly...miraculous. It is a place of light. I know in my soul that my flock will be safe there. We wish to escape the barbarity of the Wasteland, especially the violence and bigotry of its human inhabitants. The creator has promised my flock a new land; a place of safety and healing...a paradise in the Far Beyond. Preparations for the journey were nearly complete when the demons showed up," Jason explained.

"You mean the nightkin?" Carmen asked. "They can't help the way they are, you know. Schizos."

"How do you know this?" Charon asked her.

"It's what the doctor up in Jacobstown told me and Raul; it's a city of super mutants...and they're all nice too...although Keene doesn't like me much, but Lily is awesome," said Carmen. "I'll take you guys there once we're done finding that bastard, Benny."

"How will you make this...journey?" Raul asked, curious.

"The means by which the Great Journey is to be accomplished are an article of faith, not to be discussed with outsiders," said Jason.

"At least tell me what the deal is with the human that let us in. That motherfucker called me ugly, and there better be a reason behind that shit, because those are fightin' words in my book," Ava snapped, eliciting another laugh out of Desmond that was quickly silenced by Gob's elbow jamming into his stomach.

Charon rubbed the small of her back and muttered, "Easy, Smoothskin. No need to get so pissed for something so foolish."

"That asshole called me ugly!" Ava shouted.

"You're referring to Chris. I doubt you had much luck if you tried telling him he was human," said Jason.

"I just don't see how he can look at himself when he's getting dressed or taking a shower and still be convinced he's a ghoul," said Nova.

"We have all had the same discussions with Chris, and have all gotten the same response. He is convinced that he is one of our kind. Soon enough, we realized he was a gift from the creator. He is integral to the success of the Great Journey," explained Jason.

"This is like that shit with the mudlovers all over again," Desmond groaned, rubbing his temples and adjusting his glasses. "Will I never be able to get away from lunatics?"

"Not anytime soon, you're traveling with an entire army of them," said Gob.

"Very true, Gob."

"Where did these 'demons' come from?" MacCready asked.

"It seems that the demons appeared from nowhere, or rather, they didn't really _appear_ at all. They are invisible. Where one of them stands, the most one sees is the air shimmering, like sunlight upon the water. They set upon us when we were about to worship one morning, down in the basement. My flock, they fought bravely and even managed to kill a few, but at a great cost. Nearly half of us were either killed or went missing. We retreated up here. Their presence here has brought our preparations for the Great Journey to a stand-still," said Jason with a solemn face. "But now, you have come! The creator has sent us outsiders to help us overcome a seemingly insurmountable obstacle."

"So you want us to clear out the basement for you?" Ava asked. She looked back at her companions and said, "like clearing radroaches out of the vault. Easy as cake. We'll do it."

Jason lifted his arms above his head and his followers cheered loudly. "Praise the creator! Bless you, Wanderers! Bless us all!"

"Should we draw straws or something?" Raul asked. "I just want to say that my old bones might not be able to take much more from any nightkins."

"Ava and I can clear the basement," said Charon.

"I want to come too!" Carmen yelled, holding up her hunting rifle. "Marcus told me it was best to put those beyond help out of their misery."

"Me too!" shouted MacCready.

"Who's Marcus?" Nova asked the Courier.

"The leader of Jacobstown," said Raul.

Charon pointed at Carmen and said, "You can come." He then pointed at MacCready and growled, "You are fucking crazy if you think you're coming along. You're staying right here!"

"Aw, c'mon Pops!" MacCready whined.

"Yeah, c'mon Pops!" Ava said, shaking Charon's arm with a bright smile. "If I have to put up with that damn courier, you can put up with our son."

"I'm standing right here, you know," Carmen snapped.

"And if you haven't noticed by now, I don't give a fuck!" Ava growled.

"Shut up, the both of you!" Charon shouted, covering where his ears would be. "Let's go and help these ghouls already!"

Ava scowled as Carmen pranced ahead of them. MacCready, on the other hand, looked quite proud of himself that he was finally able to come along with his parents on a mission of sorts. He wanted to show his old man what he could do, and finally prove that he wasn't a little kid anymore.

* * *

Inside of the basement, the walls were covered with dark, red blood that stuck to bottoms of all their boots. The stench of it was heavy in the dry air and MacCready coughed into his elbow, trying to keep as quiet as possible.

"Should we use a light?" Carmen asked.

"And bring attention to ourselves? Are you retarded or is it just all of those chems rotting your brain away?" Ava asked.

"I don't do nearly enough drugs to have anything rotting away," said Carmen.

"Hey, you guys see that?" MacCready asked in a low voice breaking up the argument that he knew was coming. He pointed down the dark hallway and Charon nodded his head, leading them all forward.

The group slowly crept closer to the almost invisible creature and Charon cracked it over the head with the butt of his shotgun. The nightkin roared viciously, raising a club made out of rebars over its head as its camouflage withered away. MacCready shot the beast in both of its kneecaps with a loud whoop as Carmen and Ava tore the club out of the nightkin's hands.

"Here comes another one!" Charon bellowed, ducking as the second nightkin swung its club at the ghoul's head, missing him and crushing the first nightkin's skull into the metal wall of the hallway instead.

The ghoul laughed darkly, amused by the carnage, and began shooting at the nightkin that was still alive. Even MacCready shared in his amusement of it all; maybe he had been too hard on the kid. The group cleared the halls and only one final door remained to go through. Charon pressed the button as Ava fluffed up her dark hair with the barrel of her .44 magnum, not a scratch upon her armor, much to Carmen's annoyance.

A nightkin hovered above an old table, gripping the edges with gritted teeth as he snarled, "Antler says YOU are the ones killing my kin! Antler says you must die!"

"Not a chance, fucker," said MacCready. He took a step forward and his finger squeezed the trigger of his assault rifle, sending an entire clip into the nightkin's body as the adults behind him did the same. The nightkin fell, slumped over the desk, his blood dripping onto the floor in a stream.

"That's my boy," Charon said with a heavy pat on MacCready's shoulder.

"Thanks Pops," he answered.

Charon picked up a rather large sword that had clattered to the floor beside the table and held it up with an interested gleam in his good eye. "This...is fascinating," he mumbled.

"Bumper sword," said Carmen. "Too heavy for most people to use."

"Not I," said Charon, strapping the sword to his back.

As the group walked back upstairs toward Jason and his followers, Ava nudged the courier with her elbow.

"Not too shabby for a drug addict," Ava admitted.

"You're not so bad yourself when you aren't bitching about somethin'," replied Carmen.

* * *

Back inside of Jason's lab, Ava informed him that the nightkin were all taken care of and that there would be no more problems. Boone smiled at the sight of her and she heard Charon mumble something under his breath. Gob and Nova gave each other a worried glance. They knew that Charon was beginning to regret asking Boone to join them, but every bit of extra help was going to be needed...they didn't know just how much of the Brotherhood of Steel remained. Desmond chuckled at what was going on around him. A pissed off Charon was always good for a laugh, and the nutters that lived here weren't as terrible as he thought. Jason's flock had offered them all food and clean water, and have been going on and on for the past hour about how grateful they were to have them all come help.

"Praise the creator that you all returned safely and cleared the way for us. I will lead my flock back to the sacred site. Come join us there, Wanderers; there is much to be done," said Jason.

Ava and the others followed Jason as he led his flock down the basement, past the still warm bodies of the nightkin that she had just dispatched. Many of the ghoul followers now donned space suits from Pre-war times and MacCready couldn't help but point and laugh at the spectacle.

"Uncle Des is right. These people are out of their minds!" he said with a laugh.

"You don't think..." Charon began.

"That their 'Great Journey' and their 'Far Beyond' has something to do with all these old rockets and space? Yep, that's exactly what I think," said Ava.

Charon and Ava were proven right when the final set of doors opened. A launch pad holding three large, pre-war rockets. Gob picked up one of the ridiculous space helmets some of Jason's followers wore and plopped it over his head, creeping over to Nova when her back was turned. He grabbed her shoulders and growled, causing her to shriek loudly and jump almost a foot into the air. Charon and Ava were beside themselves, holding each other up as their laughter threatened to send them both to the floor. MacCready found an old space suit and pulled it on over his armor, Carmen zipping it closed with a smile. MacCready and Gob walked about the room, their movements slow and heavy as if gravity suddenly disappeared.

"You are all fools," Desmond said.

"And you're just a twist in my panties," Carmen said. "Just because you're boring as hell doesn't mean the rest of us can't have our fun!"

Desmond turned to Boone, throwing up his hands, and said, "Do you see what I deal with on a daily basis? The boy is an annoyance, his father is a former drunk who gets off on hitting me, his wife is the craziest bird I've met until this Mexican broad here decided to tag along, Gob is a pussy who gets off on Charon beating him, Nova is always fawning over Ava like she's going to break and Raul here won't let get within a foot of his 'daughter'. What the hell made you want to travel with the lot of us?"

Boone smiled, his glance at Ava not unnoticed by Desmond, and said, "I have my reasons."

"You have no chance with her, if that's what fuckin' brought you here," Desmond said in a low voice with a nod to Ava. "I've tried before...almost got all of my ribs broken for it."

"She helped me...so I'll help her now," Boone said to the ghoul.

Desmond squinted at Boone from behind his glasses. As much as he and Charon argued and fought, he wasn't about to let some guy they didn't even know get within an inch of Ava. He had made a promise to her, the night before they declared war with the Brotherhood of Steel...and he was a man of his word.

Jason gathered the group around him and said, "I have asked you all to come down here so that I may speak with you one final time before I go out onto the launch pad. I want you to know that we will remember for all eternity how you delivered us to the threshold of our Great Journey."

"You're welcome. It wasn't much trouble for us," Ava said with a kind smile. "We were happy to help."

"Our preparations are nearly complete, but we are missing some of the vital components for our rockets that will carry us to salvation. If you will help us one final time, speak with Chris. He will tell you what we need," said Jason. "There is no way that we can thank you enough, Wanderers. Your arrival here was a blessing, and we will remember you always."

"Wait, before you go...can we talk about Chris?" Nova asked. She had been mostly quiet since they have arrived at REPCONN and the group stared at her with surprise. A rosy flush appeared on her cheeks and she forced a smile. Something about Chris' situation here with Jason's followers irked her a bit, and she had seen the sadness behind the confused man's insults.

"Of course," said Jason. "After all you have done for us, you all deserve to know everything. When Chris came to us, we tried to convince him he was a human. This only angered him...he seemed...lost. We decided to let him stay with us a few days, and we learned that his technological abilities surpassed our own. It became clear that the creator had sent him to us, to help us with our Great Journey. After all he has done, I painfully decided that he would not make this trip with us."

"You're...you're just going to leave him here?" Nova asked.

"Vision upon vision has shown me that Chris would die within minutes once the journey has begun. I will not allow him to die that way," said Jason with a frown.

"There is a lot of radiation around the launch pad...I can feel it from here. It's already giving me a headache," said Charon.

"You've been using him," Nova said, her voice rising as she balled up a fist. "That's wrong!"

"There is no malice behind it. We would take him with us if we could, but we could not bear to see him die," said the Glowing One.

Jason said his goodbyes and walked off, just as Chris walked into the room, his nose buried in the notes on his clipboard. He looked up from his notes and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Ava almost punched him for it, not caring if Nova had grown a sudden soft spot for this guy or not.

"What exactly do you need us to help you with?" Ava asked.

"Two components are missing: a quantity of Isotope-239 igniting agent and a set of thrust control modules. The igniting agent decays quickly, and that's why we can't use the drums of it down by the pad. As for the thrust control modules, they were custom built for these rockets and they won't launch without them," said Chris.

"One of the prospectors back at Novac found some strange looking cables a few years ago...I can go back and ask if she still has them," said Boone.

"That's all fine and dandy, but where the hell would we find the igniting agent?" Ava asked.

"Maybe if you found a few of those souvenier rockets REPCONN used to give out. The company thought it would be clever to fill them up with the stuff; make kids feel like they had a real life rocket in their hands. Ended up with a whole bunch of lawsuits, so they stopped making them," suggested Chris.

"The gift shop," Charon muttered. "The gift shop owner in Novac had several of those things on his counter. Boone, while you're in Novac finding the cables, go ahead and grab a few. That should be enough."

The sniper nodded, tipping his head, and left.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun was dipping beneath the horizon as Ava and her companions stood inside of the viewing booth, overlooking the entire REPCONN complex. Nova wore a smug look, having convinced Chris that he was human by using her good looks and charm. He agreed with her that Jason meant not harm and had left for Novac just as everything was finished being set up.

"You guys ready for this?" Ava asked, her hand hovering over the switch that would send Jason and his followers on their way. Carmen hopped up and down, clutching her hands together, hoping that these crazy ghouls would make it after all.

"This isn't going to work. I just hope that the blast doesn't fucking kill us all," Charon said in a low voice.

Ava leaned against his shoulder and grinned widely. "Oh ye of little faith..."

Her fingers flipped the switch and pressed down on the button.

The massive silver dome across from them opened slowly as classical music began to play loudly over the speakers. The ground began to shake wildly as the engines of the rockets began to gain their enormous power, and Nova grabbed Ava's hand.

"I'll give them this," Desmond shouted over the noise, "they have excellent taste in music! I couldn't have picked a better song myself to fly off into the stratosphere!"

The rockets launched all at once, and the group flinched as one rocket dipped precariously low to the ground, nearly crashing into the statue in the complex's center, before soaring off behind the others. The group cheered loudly and Ava gave Charon a "I told you so" look. He kissed her, happy that he had indeed been proven wrong concerning this particular event. Maybe he did need a little more faith.


	7. Words Are Mightier Than A Sword

**Thanks to gklh910 (making fun of Ava was WAY too much fun for me!), DaLover (doing dialogue is my favorite part, especially Desmond's stuff because I can get as gross and mean as I want to be), and CitadelGamesSalesman (glad you're enjoying my story so far!) for your reviews! This is another long chapter, filled with lots of family stuff, and the Boulder City mission, which took all of five minutes to do. Enjoy!**

* * *

The Lone Wanderer was furiously at work as her army worked all around her, bringing the prison back to a functioning state. Charon sat across from his wife at their picnic table out in the yard, watching her scribble something onto the sign that was once posted outside of this old prison. Desmond sat beside Ava, his glasses resting at the top of his head as he concentrated on pushing a tiny spring into his mini sub-machine gun. Kitty pulled at the collar of her father's shirt as she sat in his lap, mumbling to herself with wide, blue eyes. Her red hair sat in perfect little ringlets all around her head, shining beneath the bright sun.

"Dad-dy?" Kitty said aloud.

"Yes?" Charon asked his daughter with a smirk. He never thought he'd like hearing himself be called Daddy, but the old ghoul melted into a puddle every single time one of his children uttered it.

Kitty closed her right eye and growled, holding her arms above her with her chubby fingers arced like the least menacing claws of a feral ghoul Charon had ever seen. Ava snorted with laughter and continued with her "art work." She loved that Kitty was turning out to be a daddy's girl.

"Daddy does have one eye, but I am not _that_ scary," Charon said with a laugh. "What does Mama do? I would like to see that."

Kitty grabbed a paintbrush that Ava had set aside for a moment and threw it across the table at Desmond's head with a snarl. "Bad!" she said, pointing at the ghoul.

"Yes, that is the spitting image of Ava if I do say so myself," Charon said, patting Kitty's head.

"What the fuck?" Desmond shouted as the gun fell apart in his hands. "Stop teaching her to throw shit at me!"

"Nope," Ava muttered, the tip of her tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth. "You're lucky she's not old enough for me to teach her how to shoot you yet...imagine those lessons, Lockheart."

Charon picked up a small rock from the desert sands beneath his boots and handed it to his daughter with a dark grin. "Throw this instead."

Kitty wasted no time in pelting her Godfather with the jagged rock and the table erupted with the roars of a pissed off ghoul and the laughter of a child and her parents. Desmond got up from his seat, gathering the pieces of his gun and walked away. Charon set Kitty's feet in the sand and watched as she waddled towards Carmen, who was sitting with Raul a few feet away, both of them singing a song to Phillip. Charon's son clapped his hands and hopped up and down, excited by the notes Raul played on his guitar. Ava and Charon locked eyes for a moment, happy to be with their family once again. He was surprised when Ava and Carmen managed to make it back to their newly found base without any arguing at all. He and Raul were grateful that their smoothskins seemed to be getting along for once. All it took was killing some schizophrenic super mutants for the girls to bond a bit. _That _didn't surprise Charon at all.

"I'm done!" Ava announced, holding the sign she had been working on for the past hour up to her ghoul. "Like it?"

It read: _No Entry. All Tresspassers Will Be Mauled To Death. By Deathclaws.  
_

As if on cue one of the Deathclaws and MacCready's pet, Bastard, roared loudly at a bloatfly that whizzed over its head, lashing out at the insect and catching it in its talons. The beast swallowed the insect in one mighty gulp, its tongue hanging out with temporary satisfaction. Dogmeat whimpered and crawled over to Charon with his tail between his legs.

"That is what took you all this time?" Charon asked as he scratched Dogmeat's ears.

"You can't rush a great artist," Ava said, holding the sign up with pride.

"Great artist my ass," Charon said under his breath.

"Hey! Do you want to sleep with the dogs tonight?" Ava growled.

"The dogs would not hog all of the blankets so maybe I'll consider your offer," he answered.

"Shut it and go put this up!" Ava said, trying her hardest not to crack a grin. Charon stood up and kissed his wife's forehead before taking the piece of metal from her hands. "I didn't mean that as an order by the way!"

"I know, Smoothskin," he said over his shoulder.

The prison had been cleaned up by the time Ava and the others had arrived. Three of the six sniper towers carried the flags of the armies that made up the Outcasts. A flag for the original group of Outcasts, a flag for Ashur's Pitt Raiders, and a flag for Charon's ghoul clan. A heavy fence that was recently added contained the Deathclaws at a safe distance from everyone, and Gob had fixed the spotlights on every tower. The place was a fortress; impenetrable and fearsome compared to the land surrounding it. Charon walked through the front office lobby and past the now, re-electrified gates of the prison and jammed the wooden post holding Ava's sign into the ground with his fist.

The ghoul looked up and saw Boone leaning out of one of the sniper towers. It must have been horrible to lose his wife. Charon knew he would be driven into madness if Ava was killed. The mere thought of it made him ill, and he pushed the thought away like all the others that weren't pleasant or useful. He knew they had to come here instead of walking on eggshells back home in the Capital Wasteland, not knowing if the Brotherhood of Steel was coming for them or not. Even the months of preparation before they made their move east were nerve-wracking. Ava was about to give birth to the twins and everyone was worried they would come when she was bed-ridden. The ghoul wondered if Ava truly knew how much the army depended on her. He just hoped that this trip wouldn't change her into a creature out only for revenge. Revenge...was an ugly mistress.

Charon walked back into the yard and smirked as Nova and Greta followed Carol with an armful of pots and pans each. Gob's mother adored Nova and insisted that she spend time with her, much to Gob's amusement.

"Hello Battlemaster, just getting ready for the evening meal," Carol said quickly.

"Take your time, Carol. There's a lot of people to feed," said Charon.

"Roy was such a dear; he brought out all of those stoves for us, hooked them and then built a tent over them," said Carol with a smile.

"He just didn't want us to burn down any of the buildings," Greta said with a smile.

"Nonsense! That would never happen! Nova, honey, could you grab some meat from the freezer when you have a chance?" Carol asked.

"Miss...oomph...Carol, I only have two hands you know," said Nova, almost dropping everything she carried. Charon rushed forward and grabbed several of the pots on top of Nova's arms that began to topple to the ground.

"Thanks hun," Nova said gratefully.

"Not a problem. Where do you want these?" Charon asked. Carol pointed to a table beside the line of stoves and he set them down carefully. A baseball hit him square in the back and he heard his flock of children laugh.

"Sorry Pops!" Joseph shouted. "The wind took it!"

"Sure it did," Charon said loudly. "You're mother was the one pitching; you cannot fool me."

Joseph was one of the tallest of all the children, and only MacCready matched him in height. He was still the oldest though, and always rubbed the fact that his biceps were much bigger than MacCready's, and that his girlfriend, Lucy, with her black curls, was much prettier than Princess. Lucy usually pestered Doctor Barrows and Nurse Graves whenever she wasn't by Joseph's side. The other children had grown as well. Bumble was no longer the quiet one, and chatted up a storm with anyone who'd let her, which was usually Penny. Maggie had taken Bumble's place as the quiet one of the group, her nose always stuck in a book that Charon or Ava would find for her. Squirrel and Maggie were usually seen together, Squirrel filling notebook after notebook with drawings and sketches to match Maggie's stories that she wrote. Zip was deemed the odd-ball, always experimenting with something or another; he had once set fire to a corner of Ava's suite at Tenpenny Tower while he fumbled around with the chem set there, nearly giving Roy a heart attack in the process. Knick-Knack and Knock Knock had both grown very attached to Carol, as did Eclair. The three of them were never far from the old ghoul's side, fascinated by the things one could make to eat when you weren't working with cave fungus. Biwwy had outgrown his lisp, and had become best friends with Bryan, the boy Charon had saved from Grayditch during his time apart from Ava.

"Come play catch with us!" Princess called out, wiping her hands on her already dirty blue jeans. She twisted her baseball cap back over her eyes and pushed her blonde hair back over her shoulders. Even though it now reached her waist, she refused to wear it up in a ponytail, simply because MacCready liked it better when it was down.

Charon walked over to his children and Ava tossed him a catcher's mitt with a grin. The children returned to their positions and the ghoul looked around, searching for a certain face.

"Where's MacCready? He never misses a game with us," Charon said to Ava.

"Well, Princess is here...so they're not trying to bang in one of the sniper towers again," Ava replied with a smirk.

"MOM!" Princess screeched, her face flushing with embarrassment.

Charon rolled his eye and shook his head with a scowl. "Do not fucking remind me of last night...for the love of god, Smoothskin."

"Was it more of your kids than you ever wanted to see?" Ava laughed.

"Too much. I made MacCready pull up his god damn pants before I yanked him away by the ear," Charon mumbled.

"Pops! Oh my god, please don't talk about that!" Princess wailed, but it was too late; most of the other Lamplighters had heard their father and were sent into a fit of laughter.

"Go find R.J. and we'll start a new game," Ava said. "The last saw him, he was going back behind cell block A with a few of the dogs."

"Speak of the devil himself," Charon said, nodded his head. Ava whirled around and there was MacCready, strolling back towards the group.

Charon saw his son reach into his pants and threw his mitt in the dirt with a snarl. MacCready was about to light a cigarette he had just found in his pocket when Charon walked over to him and tore it out of his mouth. MacCready opened his mouth to protest and Charon growled.

"You are never to do that again," Charon said angrily.

Ava and the other children gathered around Charon and MacCready with gaping mouths. There were three things the children were forbidden from touching by Charon: alcohol, chems, and cigarettes.

"What the fuck, Pops?" MacCready snapped. He staggered a bit and Charon grabbed his son's arm, pulling him forward. The ghoul sniffed loudly and narrowed his eye.

"Is that...whiskey?" the ghoul whispered. "Tell me...tell me that isn't whiskey I smell on your breath."

"You and Mom smoke all the time. Uncle Des and Uncle Gob do too! Everyone here drinks too!" MacCready argued.

"You are seventeen and everyone here who drinks, smokes, or fucks is older than you. Your point is?" Charon asked.

MacCready grabbed the cigarette out of Charon's hand and popped it back between his lips. "My point is that I think I'm old enough. Don't tell me what to do. You're not even my real dad!"

"The fuck did you just say?" Charon snarled.

The other children cowered as Charon placed his face inches away from MacCready's. Even most of the soldiers in the yard had stopped what they were doing to watch. The noise had become non-existent and only Charon and MacCready's voices could be heard. Ava was too shocked to move, her legs locked in place.

"I _said_, you're not even my real dad so stop trying to tell me what to fuckin' do!"

MacCready lit the cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke directly into Charon's face.

"Robert Joseph MacCready!" Ava shouted, her hands flying to her hips in anger. Charon held up his hand to silence his wife and for once, she complied.

"Put it out right now!" Charon bellowed. His voice could have shaken the mountains around them.

"No. _Fuck you,_" said MacCready with a pompous smirk.

Charon reached for the cigarette once again and MacCready shoved the ghoul as hard as he could. Ava and the children gasped at his blatant act of defiance. None of the children had ever disrespected Charon or Ava before.

"I am giving you one final chance, _Robert_. Put out the fucking cigarette or you will regret it," said Charon in a low voice.

"No deal, _Charon_," said MacCready. In all the time MacCready had known Charon, Ava had never heard him use his real name. It had always been Pops.

Charon cocked his head slightly, bristling with anger and disappointment. MacCready didn't see him as his father anymore? Then he would treat him like any other soldier who stepped out of line. "Never say I didn't warn you."

The ghoul's fist slammed into MacCready's face and he was knocked to the sand. Charon picked MacCready up by the collar of his shirt and brought him up to his knees. He leaned in and whispered, "You will _never_ defy me again and if you do, I will banish you from this family! I don't give a FUCK if you are my son or not, you will fucking listen to me. You are a part of the army Ava and I command, and you WILL follow orders. Am I clear?"

"I hate you," MacCready whispered.

Charon ignored MacCready and repeated, "Am I clear?"

MacCready was trembling with fear and he answered, "Yes."

"Yes, WHAT?" Charon said loudly. Ava took a step forward and Charon turned his head to snarl at her. She felt her heart stop and she nodded slowly; she was not to interfere with this argument.

"Yes...Sir."

Charon dropped him to the ground with a growl and walked away. Ava followed her ghoul and tried to take his hand, but he pulled away from her. It did not stop her from following him through the main building and through the fences guarding the former prison. Ava grabbed him by both of his shoulders and spun him to face her.

"Talk to me! Where the fuck are you going?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"Ava, please. Not now. I cannot talk about this..."

"He's just a kid, Charon! They all act like this! I know he pissed you off but-"

"Ava. I love him like my own son, like Phillip. And he just told me that I wasn't his father...that he hates me..." the ghoul whispered.

"Charon," Ava began. "Don't...please don't leave."

"I would never walk out on you. I'm just...going for a walk. You may come if you like, but I'd rather be alone. I don't want you to think I am leaving you or our family. I promise you, I'll return in a few hours when I've cooled down."

"I love you," Ava said quietly.

Charon kissed her forehead and said, "I love you too. I won't be far."

Ava watched him walk until she could barely see him in the darkness. Fuming she turned on her heel and marched back to MacCready, who was still sitting in the sand, stunned into silence. The area around his left eye was already a dark shade of purple and swollen, and the moment she reached him, she added a heavy slap across his face, throwing him back again. Ava stared at her son with her arms crossed and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Are you fucking proud of yourself? Your father does _everything_ for you. He was the one who always defended you whenever you royally pissed me off and that is how you thank him? Jesus, MacCready, we only ask that you all don't touch the 'trifecta of shit not to ever touch because it's terrible for you' and you've manage to do two out of the fucking three in one day?" Ava said.

"I'm sorry, Mom," said MacCready, his voice breaking.

"Sorry won't fucking fix this right now. I hope you're proud of yourself, because I'm not. Not one fucking bit." Ava took her pack of cigarettes from her pocket and threw them at MacCready's lap. "You're a grown man now huh? At seventeen? Really? So do whatever the _fuck_ you want, MacCready. I'm done!"

MacCready watched as his adoptive mother turned on her heel and walked into the main building, slamming the door shut behind her so hard that it fell off its rusted hinges and into the sand. He held his head in his hands and wondered to himself if having a smoke and nicking a half-empty bottle of whiskey from the kitchen was all worth it.

* * *

Charon sat on the ridge just beyond the old prison and stared up at the night sky. He was grateful that Ava left him alone for a while. He made a mental note of thanking her the only way he knew best when he returned to their room. All he wanted was to feel her hands on his skin, her quiet breaths by his ear, and the smile on her face when he would take her. She always smiled when he did, he noticed. There was no look of disgust. No lust. Ava actually looked like she was happy to be his and for that alone he was thankful.

"Pops?"

Charon was ripped from his thoughts and he turned around to see MacCready standing a few feet away. His black eye was noticeable, even in the darkness, and Charon regretted what he had done. He had been too rash, but he couldn't find it in himself to stop in the heat of anger.

"I gave you quite the shiner, didn't I?" said Charon as his son sat beside him.

"Yeah, but Mom's yelling was just as bad I think. She has a killer backhand too, holy shit," said R.J. with a smirk.

"Oh, I know. I'm...I'm sorry, son."

"Me too, Pops. I was an asshole. I just don't want you to see me as a kid anymore. I don't feel like one, not since you gave me the keys to the bike and we left home. I just wish you'd let me prove to you...that I can handle of this. I know I can. "

"It is difficult for me to see you as anything else though. You will always be the annoying, foul-mouthed boy we found who wasn't afraid to point an assault rifle in my face," Charon explained.

MacCready laughed loudly, remembering the day his father and mother unknowingly walked into Little Lamplight. He didn't know they would all grow to be a real family, something he and the other Lamplighters had longed for.

"I believe you said, 'Take another step and I'll blow your fuckin' head off' and I remembered dreading taking that next step, not because you frightened me, but because I had to deal with the whole lot of you. We could hear the rest of the children running about behind the blockade, knocking shit over and laughing," said Charon with a grin.

"That was probably Zip's clumsy ass," MacCready said.

"I believe it was, actually," the ghoul agreed. "I am glad that your mother was able to convince you all that we meant no harm to you. My life...has been better, since I met your mother and all of you. I would never trade it for anything, and if I had to live my life of slavery ten times over, I would do it with a smile...as long as I knew we would all be together in the end. Our family...is fucking everything to me. That's why your mother and I wage war with the Brotherhood: to make certain that our family is safe and whole."

MacCready lowered his head and muttered, "Pops?"

"Yes, son?"

"I want you to know...I want you to know that no matter what I say or do, you'll always be my dad. I never knew how much I wanted one until you and Mom said you'd watch over us," MacCready admitted.

Charon wrapped an arm around MacCready and pulled him close, hugging him roughly. Everything from the afternoon had been forgiven, and he knew that MacCready would never do something so foolish ever again.

"And you will always be my son, R.J., and nothing will ever change that."

They sat in silence for some time until MacCready looked up at his father and smiled weakly. "Does this mean I can smoke now?"

Charon laughed loudly and pat his son's back. "Not a chance in hell, son. Nice try though."

* * *

Ava held Charon's arm tightly as the group approached the ruins of Boulder City. Carmen had been strangely quiet the whole way there; she didn't even insult Desmond yet, much to the old ghoul's surprise. Raul nervously tapped his pistols as they all got closer to the city. He had been on edge as well...perhaps he would finally get to meet this Benny who put a bullet into Carmen's head. Maybe he could even gather enough strength to strangle him a bit before Carmen got her own revenge.

The city was swarming with soldiers from the New California Republic, all of whom stared at the Outcast combat armor Ava, Charon, and Desmond wore. Their eyes were cold...and still fearful. Ava stood up a little straighter when Charon had quietly pointed it out to her. Even the NCR would know who the Outcasts were soon enough. It was all a matter of time before the deeds tied with their name made it out west.

An NCR ranger held up a hand and said, "There's a situation with some Great Khans right now...the brass at McCarran has ordered us to lock down the ruins until further notice. There are plenty of roads around this area that are still usable."

"I need to get in there...there's someone who I'd like to meet," Carmen said suddenly.

"And who might you all be? Let's start with you three," he said, motioning his rifle towards Ava, Charon, and Desmond.

"You don't need to worry about us," Ava said with narrowed eyes. She wasn't quite ready to tell the NCR of the arrival of the Outcasts. The NCR was powerful, and she couldn't risk it when they haven't even come close to finding their true enemies yet. If the NCR was going to go on their shit list, they would have to wait their turn.

"The three of them are just some mercenaries my friend and I hired," said Raul as he rested his hand on Carmen's shoulder. "For protection."

"That doesn't look like any armor I've seen a mercenary wear," said the ranger.

"Did you not hear him?" Charon asked with a nod at Raul. "Our only concern are the men that could be here. They tried to assassinate our client."

"Look, one of my patrols was passing through here when some Great Khans started shooting. They chased the Khans into the ruins and were caught in a crossfire before reinforcements could arrive. The Khans now have two of our privates held hostage," the ranger explained.

"Those Khans...they also took something of mine...a poker chip. It's vital that I retrieve it," Carmen said. "I'm not leaving until I see them."

"Once the Khans are killed or captured, you can retrieve any property of yours that they may-" began the ranger.

Ava stepped forward and said, "We could go in there and get your guys. My big friend here and I, are especially good at those jobs. We don't fail...at anything."

"Well...all right. My men have been unsuccessful, so maybe you can get them out safely. You all seem...capable. Once you secure the hostages, my men will come and finish off any Khans. If you're feeling kind and want to negotiate, the leader of this band is named Jessup," said the ranger as he opened the gate in the barricade.

The group marched ahead and Desmond waited until the NCR soldiers were out of earshot before he whispered, "Are we going to kill the hostages too or just the Khans?"

"No NCR soldiers...one thing at a time. We don't know if the NCR is against us yet. Let's concentrate on finding Benny first," said Ava. "So hands away from the guns...for now."

A few heads perked up as the group got closer to the building, but no shots were fired. Carmen's pace matched Ava's as the girls strolled ahead of the group, hopefully appearing to be less threatening than the ghouls behind them. That was a fatal mistake most people have made around Ava. She was every bit as vicious as Charon was, perhaps even more so at times. It was usually the ghoul calming Ava down when she became worked up over something, but there were plenty of times when he would egg her on, pushing her past her limits, just to see if she could return to her old self again. It bothered him to do it, and at the same time, Charon felt a thrill like no other when Ava unleashed her wrath upon some poor sap who was foolish enough to challenge them.

"I don't see how you still drool over her like some hormone-driven teenager," Desmond said, noticing where Charon's eye had locked on.

"I will never tire of her," Charon said.

"If I found a woman as good as Ava, I'd never leave her side," said Raul. "You're a lucky ghoul, Charon."

"Thank you," Charon answered sincerely.

"Things good with your brat now? That was a hell of a row you two had yesterday," said Desmond.

"Yes, he apologized and so did I."

"The kid does know how to listen then," Desmond said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Before he went off looking for you, he asked Gob and I what he should do. He wanted to apologize, but said he was nervous. I told him if he wanted to be a real man, he would do it," said Desmond.

"That ain't half bad," said Raul. "Didn't think an asshole like you could say something worthwhile."

"Not everything I say or do is vile, old man," Desmond said.

Carmen kicked the door of a store open, startling the Great Khans hiding inside of the ruined building some of the NCR soldiers had pointed out. Ava stood beside the Courier with a smug grin; not one of the Khans had reached for a weapon yet. They knew they were fucked.

"Jessup?" Ava asked out loud. A man with a mohawk perked his head up and the color was wiped from his face when he saw Carmen standing by the door.

"H-holy s-shit! It's t-that courier that Benny wasted back at Goodsprings! Y-you're supposed to be dead!" whispered Jessup.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS BENNY?" Carmen screamed, ramming her weathered 10mm pistol into the only face she recognized. This man...he watched her get shot. He was the one who said it was a shame they'd have to kill her for no reason...and he just stood there and let that bastard shoot her in the head. There was no room in her heart for mercy.

Ava and the three ghouls pointed their own weapons at the rest of the Khans before they could all react to the scene unfolding in front of them. "Don't you fucking move," she snarled.

"Where is that fucking asshole? Is he here?" Carmen asked, checking the faces of everyone in the small store. The Courier didn't wait for his answer and cracked her gun into the side of Jessup's face, sending him against the ruined plaster of the wall.

Raul and Desmond both moved to stop her when Ava muttered, "No...she needs this...I know she does...because I would need it too."

Ava was staring at herself. Carmen had a lot of rage and hurt inside of her heart, just like she had once. She didn't need to ask Carmen or even Raul if it was true. She already knew it...because Ava remembered wearing a similar face of hatred and revenge when she faced Colonel Autumn for the final time. Carmen had to let it out somehow, and this was working for her.

"Benny isn't here!" the man cried.

"THEN WHERE IS MY PLATINUM CHIP?" Carmen screeched, pushing the gun into his mouth as her fingers curled around his hair, yanking his head back.

"My dear, he cannot possibly answer you with the barrel of a pistol in his way," Desmond said. The Courier yanked it out with a growl and waited for her answer.

"About that chip..." the man mumbled with a mouthful of blood.

"What about it?" Carmen asked.

"Benny has it. He screwed us all over and is back at The Strip...we...we didn't want to kill you! What the fuck could we do? If we tried to do anything, even speak up, Benny would have killed us!" Jessup wailed.

"Tell me about Benny and maybe I won't shoot _you_ in the head when you're completely defenseless," Carmen snarled.

"B-Benny's one of the Chairmen, one of the people who run The Tops casino in New Vegas. He's...he's pretty much untouchable!" Jessup explained. "He's so high up there that you need four ladders to reach him!"

Carmen backed away and glanced at Ava. The girls shared a silence and finally, Carmen asked, "This man watched me get shot and he didn't do shit about it. I want to make his head explode and drench everything in here with his blood. What...what would you do...if you were me?"

"He didn't pull the trigger...Benny did," said Ava.

Carmen faced Jessup once again and whispered, "You better fucking worship the ground this woman walks on...she just saved you."

"We're taking the hostages. If you try to stop us, we'll kill you," said Raul.

"Thank you," whispered Jessup.

The group was nearly out the door when Charon stopped and asked Jessup, "We have been told that the Great Khans are ferocious...but just how many members do you have?"

"Hundreds," Jessup answered. "Up in Red Rock. That's where we stay."

"Then don't be surprised if my wife," Charon said, pointing to Ava, "and I pay your tribe a visit one day. We may...need someone of your caliber in the future."

Outside, the group freed the hostages and lead them back to their Lieutenant.

"The Khans were cooperative. You should let them go," Carmen said quietly.

"I was just given orders to shoot them," said the ranger.

"Make your own moral choices. They just want to go home," said Ava.

"All right, we'll let them go unharmed," the ranger agreed. He gathered his men and were preparing to leave, avoiding a second confrontation with the Khans all together.

Carmen stared at the New Vegas skyline with a heavy sigh. She would finally see Benny again soon...and he would die.

Ava stared at her ghoul for a moment before she asked, "What the hell was that about in there?"

"Just finding out information. The enemy of a possible enemy-" Charon began.

Ava looped her arm through his and said with smile, "-Is our dearest friend."


	8. A Killer Voice

**Sorry for the delay guys! Life drama, you know how that shit goes. Anyway, this was pretty fun to write. Silly? Perhaps. A special thanks to gklh910 for always brightening my day /gives giant hug, and my other faithful readers (DeathSidhe, CitadelGamesSalesman, and DaLover). You guys are so freakin' great; if I could, I'd make dinner for all of you! Enjoy this chapter (especially all of you Desmond lovers out there...you might need to fan yourselves...)!**

* * *

Ava stared down the road of Freeside, disgusted by the state of things around her. Homeless people littered the streets among the trash, begging anyone around them for food and water. Charon wordlessly handed a young woman a bottle of water out of his pack and smiled as she only took one sip before handing it to her son. Several bodyguards for hire lined up by the entrance, eying the guns Ava and her companions carried.

"C'mon, it's all right," Carmen said as she pulled on Ava's hand. "Everything is allowed in Freeside, nothing we do will get us noticed. I'm in good with The King."

"The King? Who the fuck is The King?" Ava asked.

"_Yo no se_, he doesn't have another name, it's just The King. He tries to rule over this place fairly, but the NCR has been giving him problems. I helped him out a bit and tried to smooth shit over between them. Once the NCR started shit with the Followers of the Apocalypse...well, it's gotten worse," explained Carmen.

"Another cult?" Desmond asked. "You know, I've had it up to here with cults."

"No, _pendejo,_ they're all really nice. They're trying to help the people of Freeside; mostly just a bunch of doctors and shit," said Carmen.

The group walked through the streets as the sun began to set. The lights of New Vegas almost drowned out those of Freeside with its gaudy and flashy displays. A woman wearing black shorts that barely covered her rear end shouted out "_Thirsty? Hungry? Horny? Then come to the Atomic Wrangler! We've got all your needs!"_

Desmond cocked his head and mumbled, "Any of you assholes want a drink? I'm parched."

"You paying, Screwball?" Carmen asked, using her favorite insult for the ghoul.

"Are you giving me a blow job in return?" Desmond asked with a smirk.

"In your dreams," Carmen said as they all walked toward the bar.

"In my dreams...you do much more than that," said Desmond.

"Oh yeah? Are you any good? I don't even have to ask you if I am. I know the answer to that already," Carmen said, her voice lowering as she wrapped an arm around the ghoul's neck.

"Why don't you and I get a room...and I can show you," he suggested.

"I'd rather fuck a deathclaw than you, Screwball," Carmen laughed.

Desmond narrowed his eyes as the Courier walked off, linking arms with Raul. Charon and Ava fell back, slowing their steps until Desmond caught up, grumbling angrily. That bird better be worth all the torment he was going through, in both his head and his pants.

"You cannot possibly expect the girl to fall for you if all you do is make those sort of remarks," said Charon. "You need to be a little more creative than, 'I can fuck you silly.' She seems to need something else."

"What the fuck would you suggest, Cassanova?" Desmond snapped.

"Have you tried...how should I put this...not being a fucking dick?" Ava asked.

"That bird is driving me mad. No one says no to me, and every time she does, it just amps my desire for her even more! It's fucking baffling!" Desmond whispered heatedly.

"I pretty much said no to you," Ava said. "And then Charon slammed your face into a piano. Good times, right Des?"

"You are...so bloody lucky that I have a soft spot for you, Smoothskin, or else I would have popped you in the mouth ages ago."

Charon growled as they stepped into the bar. Desmond sure knew how to push his fucking buttons sometimes and he hoped that one day, the old ghoul would not do it to the point that he would have to kill him. Carmen sat at the bar, chatting with the bartender, and she waved them all over with a smile. Raul was busy at the other end of the bar, a female ghoul stroking the side of his face as she leaned in to kiss him, blocking everyone's view with a tip of her cowboy hat.

"Guys, this is Garret. He supplies me with drinks...and other shit, and Raul pays a visit to his lovely friend, Beatrix over there every week. They're kind of cute, aren't they?" Carmen asks.

"Ghoul women don't do it for me...I like them with skin," Desmond said with a wink towards Carmen. Ava and Charon both rolled their eyes at their friend, but were surprised when Carmen smiled instead of her usual hitting or insulting.

"You're never gonna give up, are you Screwball?" she asked Desmond.

"No, I am not. I get what I want, and it will be worth it for a lovely desert flower such as yourself," said Desmond in a soft voice.

"Fuck, I'm going to gag..." Ava muttered.

Garret leaned over the counter and said, "Carm, you good with computers yet or am I still wasting my time?"

"Hell no, I'm terrible at that shit," she replied. "Ava here is great though. She's the brains of the group."

Garret turned to Ava and said, "If you can help me out here, I'll make it worth your while. Free drinks whenever you visit, a free room to stay in, and a thousand caps on top of all that. I just need someone who's good with computers."

"Set us up with some gear for The Top and you might have a deal. Carmen told us we need to look good to get into that place. What do you need?" Ava asked.

"I have these regulars...disgusting robot fetishists, actually, who would kill for a sexbot," Garret explained.

"You know it's for you, James. No need to feel ashamed here," said Raul when he finally lifted his head up for air.

"Fuck you, I'm not one of them!" Garret snapped.

"Oh god," Ava whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Now I'm going to fucking vomit."

Desmond and Charon both shouted out with howls of laughter, slamming their fists into the bar top and wiping tears from their eyes. They could not control themselves after seeing Ava's horrified face when Garret explained what he needed.

"Ava despises robots," Desmond explained to a confused Carmen. "Fuck, this is a good day!"

"I'll find one," Ava blurted, surprising both Charon and Desmond, "but I want two thousand caps. And I swear to god, if that robot tries to fuck me, I'll have your head."

"You've got yourself a deal. But make sure it comes here in one piece. If you break the merchandise, you buy it," Garret replied.

* * *

Standing inside a store called _Cerulean Robotics_, Ava and her companions all stared at the computer that was linked to the only robot that wasn't completely ruined. A rat crawled out from beneath the assembly and Ava screamed, nearly climbing Charon's shoulders as Carmen shot it with a smirk.

"Jumpy, are we?" Carmen asked.

"I fucking hate robots!" Ava shouted, still climbing Charon's back.

Charon chuckled and wrapped his arms around Ava, kissing the top of her head. "I promise Smoothskin...I will not allow a robot to take advantage of you. Only I get to do that."

"Yeah thanks. I appreciate your sarcasm as I'm shitting my pants," Ava growled.

As Ava turned on the computer, its screen lighting up her grim face, Desmond tapped on Charon's shoulder and whispered something to his Battlemaster. The ghoul nodded, biting his bottom lip as they both snickered quietly. Desmond bravely snaked an arm around Carmen's waist and held a finger to his lips, pointing at the Lone Wanderer with a grin.

Ava scowled before she pressed the enter key, uploading the new programming routine, and the robot ambled out of its enclosure. She took a few steps backward, bumping into Charon, and froze with wide eyes as the robot faced her.

"Fully Integrated Security Technetronic Officer active and reporting for duty," the robot announced.

"I'm calling you Fisto," Ava mumbled. "That was a hell of a mouthful."

"Yes Ma'am...Fisto, reporting for duty. Please assume the position!"

"What the fuck? Hell no!" Ava screeched.

"I am programmed for your pleasure. Please assume the position," Fisto said. Several drills appeared from hidden compartments on Fisto's body and began to spin and thrust wildly.

Charon shoved Ava forward into the robot and said, "You heard him Smoothskin! Assume the position!"

If Charon was not standing beside his wife right then when he heard her ear-splitting scream, he would have sworn someone was trying to murder her. Instead, he, Desmond and Carmen laughed loudly as Ava turned to them with a reddened face. She reared back, fist curled and Charon ducked, allowing Desmond to receive Ava's punch to his chin instead.

"I didn't even do anything this time!" Desmond bellowed.

"Report to the Atomic Wrangler. James Garret is your new owner and he will GLADLY assume the position," Ava snarled to the robot.

* * *

Charon, Desmond, and Raul sat at the bar back at the Atomic Wrangler, nursing their drinks until the girls were finished getting ready to head to The Top. The three ghouls looked exceptionally sharp in their new suits, though Charon had decided against a coat, opting for a crisp white long-sleeve with suspenders instead. Desmond had gone all out with a black pin-striped suit, spats, and a fedora to match. Carmen seemed to be absolutely delighted that she was finally going to get revenge on Benny and they all had a few shots with the now grateful Garret before they set off. Charon didn't wouldn't lie to himself...he had drank more than any of them and was already feeling the whiskey churning through his body.

Ava and Carmen sauntered down the steps, laughing as they linked arms. The ghouls looked up and the jaws of both Charon and Desmond hit the counter at once.

"How do I look, Screwball?" Carmen asked. Her red hair was now a mass of large, soft curls that framed her face. She had decided on a short, white dress for the occasion, its beading glittering in the light of the bar.

"Bloody gorgeous," Desmond admitted. Carmen smiled and took the shot Desmond offered her without an insult. He grinned; he was finally..._finally_ getting somewhere with this girl.

"Thank you...Des," she replied with a smirk.

Charon had not said a word since locking eyes with his smoothskin. Her dress was long and black, the neckline plunging all the way down her navel and a slit that ran up the length of the dress, reaching her upper thigh. Ava grinned and spun in her heels, looking over her shoulder at Charon and giving him a wink. His eye drifted to her backside and he stood up, knocking his bar stool over with a feral snarl. Raul and Desmond grabbed his arms as the ghoul tried in vain to reach Ava.

"Think he likes my dress?" Ava asked Carmen.

"I'm pretty sure his hard on is giving it away, but what the hell do I know?" the Courier answered with a loud laugh.

"I NEED TO FUCK MY WIFE RIGHT NOW," Charon bellowed, lifting his two friends off the ground and walking closer to her.

"Jesus, keep it in your bloody pants!" Desmond said.

"Not on your life, Lockheart!" the larger ghoul growled. "Ava, get that ass over here before I have a coronary!"

"I think you'll have one if I do go over there," Ava teased.

Desmond and Raul gave up, freeing Charon. The ghoul nearly tackled Ava to ground as he pinned her to the wall beside the bar, covering her throat with rough nips. Ava returned his affections, kissing him as he pressed against her.

"As much as I would enjoy watching Ava being plowed right now, I do believe we have some business to attend to," Desmond said loudly. He glanced over at Garret, who appeared bewildered out of his mind at the sight of a beauty being dry humped by a ghoul, and added, "Always the same shit with these two. They fuck like rabbits."

Charon managed to tear himself away from Ava with a smug grin. "That ass is mine later, Ava, and don't you forget it."

"I could never forget something like that," Ava purred. "And for once, I agree one hundred percent with Desmond. Carmen has some business to attend to...and I can't wait to see the look on that asshole's face."

"You and me both," said the Courier, wringing her hands with a devious smile.

* * *

The group ambled down the streets of Freeside, toward the heavily guarded entrance to New Vegas. Ava, Charon, and Desmond passed the credit check with ease, as Carmen and Raul flashed their forged passports with smiles a mile wide. The two eldest ghouls fidgeted with their concealed weapons hidden beneath their coats. Everyone knew better than to bring an all out arsenal of weapons into the casinos...this would be one of the few jobs that required a bit of sneaking around and stealth. Ava wasn't at all nervous, but she could see that Carmen was on edge...she had been tugging at the hem of her short dress and the ends of her curls since they left the Atomic Wrangler.

"Howdy pardner! Welcome to New Vegas!" a securitron announced as the group walked past the gate.

Ava recognized the face almost immediately to be Victor's, the robot that had saved Carmen...but he was just in Goodsprings. How the hell could he possibly be here?

"Damn Victor, seems like you pop up everywhere," Carmen said, giving Raul a glance. Victor never sat right with her. He always seemed to be everywhere at once, though she was sure that was impossible.

"Aw shucks, pardner. I suppose it can't hurt to let ya'll in on my little secret! Old Victor wouldn't be much use stuck in one securitron! No, I can move from one to another with the snap of a finger!" Victor announced. "Pretty nice trick, ain't it? But don't ask me how, 'cause I don't know!"

Ava clutched Charon's arm and he shielded her body with his. Charon debated whether or not to just blow it to hell, and he alerted Desmond and Raul of his unease with a quiet grunt. Only Carmen stood out in the open, unafraid of Victor.

"What do you want, Victor? We're kind of busy here...I have to find Benny," Carmen said.

"The head honcho of New Vegas wants to meet ya'll! Just head to the Lucky 38, right over there, that big 'ol tower," Victor chimed.

"Maybe later Victor, I'm fucking busy," Carmen snapped, pushing past the robot.

Victor reached out and clamped a metal claw around Carmen's wrist. She tried to pull away but he refused to let go and she cried out in a panic, causing all three ghouls and Ava to point their weapons at Victor. Desmond was even bold enough to hold the end of his gun against the screen that made up Victor's face.

"Let her go!" Desmond roared, "Or I'll fuckin' blast you until you're less than scrap motherfucker!"

Victor dropped Carmen's wrist and she rushed over to Raul with a quiet whimper, pressing her face into his neck. He shushed her with soothing words and bared his teeth at the robot they once trusted.

"Don't you dawdle, little doggies! Mr. House isn't someone you want to go about snubbin'...he'll be waitin'," Victor warned. The screen returned to the same face all the rest of the securitrons had and it rolled away without another word.

Desmond growled under his breath and turned his attention to Carmen. "Are you all right, my dear?"

"Yeah...I'm...I'm fine _Guapo, _'s just get this over with," she answered.

Carmen pulled away from Raul and led the group forward with renewed determination. Desmond cocked his head and asked Raul, "My Spanish isn't too good, mate. What the fuck did she call me now?"

Raul shook his head, laughing quietly and said, "_Guapo_...it means 'handsome.' Boss is a sucker for heroes."

"Well, that's refreshing," said Desmond with a grin. "About time the girl warmed up to me."

Charon rolled his eyes and shoved his Second-In-Command forward before Carmen could get too far ahead. The lights of New Vegas were almost blinding and the buildings were all massive and equally gaudy. It truly was a sight to behold; to see things almost as they were almost two hundred years ago still in pristine condition. The group walked through a second gate and found The Top with ease.

Inside, they were stopped for a weapons check and Ava coolly slipped the bouncer a wad of NCR bills that Garret had given her earlier. The bouncer grinned and waved them forward without a fuss, mentioning that if he and the other bouncers didn't see anything, they would not be bothered.

"That shit would have never worked with me. I would have torn people's clothes off to search for weapons if I worked in a place like this," Charon mumbled.

"Maybe that's how I should have gotten you to speak to me then, instead of pretending I was vaguely interested in Ahzrukhal..." Ava replied.

"Wouldn't have mattered...although I will not lie, I probably would have enjoyed tearing your armor off before I put a bullet into your head," Charon said with a smirk.

Ava gulped before Charon kissed her cheek, her face burning hotly. Music played over the speakers of the casino and the group had to push their way through the dense crowd. Garret had told them that Benny frequented the club upstairs, and when they followed Charon through the doors, they could all see why. The club was much more lavish than the rest of the casino, and also much more dimly lit.

Ava's eye caught a flash of a checkered coat beside the stage and nodded her head. "Is that him?" she asked in a low whisper.

Carmen turned her head and snarled so loudly that Desmond immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. It was all Ava needed to know.

"How are we doing this without bringing attention to ourselves, Boss? I'm old man, but I'd like to live a little bit longer you know," Raul asked.

"The club's too fucking quiet! We need that band to play something loud!" Carmen whispered urgently. Benny and his goons were slowly walking towards the door, taking their sweet time to speak to the more important patrons.

"Des, go up there and sing! Get the club riled up!" Charon barked suddenly, pointing to the stage.

The ghoul's hand was itching to kill something as Ava clung to his arm. She had no protection wearing her long black dress and he wasn't any better off wearing only a long sleeve shirt, unless his black suspenders could somehow stop bullets.

"Are you mad? I'm not a god damn lounge singer!" Desmond snapped. "What the fuck makes you think the bouncers won't tackle me when I grab the mike anyway, you fucking mick?"

"You better pick a good song then, you limey fuck! Get up there and do it before I kill you!" Charon snarled.

"I'll stay right outside the doors...I won't let them leave," said Raul darkly.

Charon nodded and Desmond looked up at the stage with a scowl. This better work...

"Carmen, you're coming with me, let's go," Desmond muttered angrily, pulling Carmen along with him before they hopped onto the stage.

"_Pero_ I can't sing!" Carmen said nervously.

"Then dance around and look pretty," he said with a smack on her ass.

There was no time for Carmen to chastise that damn ghoul. Desmond spoke to the band quickly and smoothed back his hair, smoothing out the wrinkles on his coat and tie. Carmen stood off by the edge of the stage, holding on to the hem of her dress and biting down on her bottom lip until it was as red as the sun setting on the horizon. She was indeed the One, he decided, and he would not part from her...he would cross an ocean for her, that psychotic bitch. She was as mad as he was, and that sent a rush through his body that he had not felt in decades.

Desmond rushed toward her before the club bouncers could take action, his spats sliding on the slick surface of the stage and he wrapped arm around her waist with a smirk. Carmen squealed in surprise and he dipped her, his mouth meeting hers.

"Let's hope you can dance as good as you look," Desmond whispered. Carmen was turned out into a spin, and followed Desmond's quick feet.

The drummer slammed his sticks on the drums and the piano player played his heart out. The brass instruments played loudly and the club's patrons rushed over to the dance floor, preventing Benny from reaching the door, and Ava and Charon joined the fray as well. Ava had no idea what to do, but it was clear that her ghoul knew exactly what it was.

"_HEY! PACHUCO! HEY!" _the band shouted at Desmond. He grinned and lifted Carmen on top of the piano before skidding back to the microphone stand.

"_Summer '43...the man is gunning for me...blue and white mean war tonight," _Desmond crooned into the microphone. The crowd cheered, Ava and Charon louder than the rest. Desmond flipped up the collar to his suit with a raised brow towards Carmen, and her icy hatred melted at the sight. The ghoul snapped his fingers, keeping the beat of the song, and Carmen danced along, kicking out her feet with a cheer. "_They say damn my pride, the other cats livin' down Freeside...or maybe just my brim's too wide..."_

"What the FUCK?" Ava shouted, clapping her hands together. "The prick can sing?"

"I've heard him before, which is exactly why I suggested it. Now, follow my lead," Charon growled. He took Ava's hand and gripped tightly onto her waist and whirled her closer to Benny.

"And you...you can dance?" Ava shouted with a grin.

Charon smiled back at her as he dipped her, and bent his head towards her ear. "Very well, I might add. Now, when we reach the marks, kill them. Cut their throats or use your pistol."

Carmen leapt from the piano top and into Desmond's arms with a wild laugh. The ghoul swung her from one side of hips to the other and dipped her over his knee, cradling her along with the microphone stand. "_Ooooh...Marie...you better grab my jack and zip gun for me...and I'll face no shame...'cause tonight's the night I may die for our name..."_

Ava and Charon danced closer to their first mark, the larger of Benny's body guards. She reached into her dress and out slipped a small, silver switchblade. Charon turned Ava to face the mark and her hand lashed out, cutting his throat deeply. The club was so packed and the music so loud that no one noticed the man fall to the floor clutching his throat. He could have been just another drunkard who couldn't stand on his feet. The second mark was closer to the edge of the dance floor and Ava and Charon inched closer to him. Ava jumped and wrapped her legs around Charon's waist, bending over backwards and holding herself up with her hands. Charon's free hand slid up her thigh as he reached for the silenced .22 pistol concealed under her dress, and he shot the mark right smack in the middle of his forehead. Charon pulled Ava up and she kissed him furiously, her legs still wrapped around him.

"I want you...badly," she growled into his ear as she pulled on his suspenders. The thrill of the hunt for their targets and Charon's blatant groping was almost too much for Ava to contain herself.

The ghoul pulled on his black tie, loosening it as he cleared his throat and said, "Later, I promise. Benny is the only mark left, so hurry. He's too close to the door."

Carmen and Desmond began to dance as the song slowed for a moment. Her arms draped around Desmond's neck and the old ghoul was beaming. He didn't need the microphone just now, his voice was powerful enough to be heard above the crowd.

"_Well I'd like to be swingin', dancin' and singin'...just having a time...free to do whatever...now more than ever...I've gotta stick, with that gang of mine!" _he sang, pointing to Ava and Charon, who had momentarily forgotten about Benny and were swaying, locked in a kiss so fierce that others around them blushed. Carmen grinned at the couple and the song picked up once again.

"Faster, dance faster!" Charon muttered, still not over their passionate outburst as they followed Benny to the door. The target's hands were on the handle and Charon could not properly aim for him with the crowd surrounding from all sides. "Shit!"

Carmen reached into Desmond's coat in the middle of their wild dance and pulled out an engraved switchblade. She had a better shot than Ava and Charon, and without giving it a second thought, she shouted out, "HEY! BENNY!"

Benny head whipped around and his jaw almost hit the floor in surprise. "What the fuck? You're supposed to be dead!"

Carmen sneered and hurled the blade clear across the dance floor, and it lodged in the center of Benny's head.

The crowd screamed and Desmond grabbed Carmen's arm and leapt from the stage, but not before taking a bow. He pushed them both towards Charon, Raul, and Ava, and they followed the crowd to the exit. Six bouncers stood in their way and Desmond and Charon both reared back and punched the guards closest to them. Three bouncers grabbed Ava around the waist and Charon shot one in the chest with a snarl. Ava jumped into his arms and they pushed through the crowd as everyone began to panic. Carmen dug through Benny's coat and her fingers wrapped around the platinum poker chip. She tore the bloody knife from Benny's head and held it tightly in her hand.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Desmond screamed. He looked back at Carmen and kissed her roughly. "God damn, you are the hottest thing to ever walk this fucked up planet, baby."

"You just like the way I kill bad men, _Guapo_," she purred. She had finally gone through with it...all those drunken ramblings with Raul at night were quickly coming true, but why exactly did she have to pick the biggest asshole she could find?

"There is time for necking later you fucking morons!" Ava shouted.

"Don't get your bloody knickers in a twist, Smoothskin," Desmond laughed. Ava turned to give him a royal ass kicking, but Charon wrapped his arms around her small waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"And there will be time to beat the shit out of Desmond later!" said Charon, "but now we have to get the fuck out of this dump!"

Raul puffed nervously on his cigarette when the crowd started running out of club, screaming their lungs out in fright. He quickly stubbed out the burning embers and reached for his silenced .22 pistol when Ava, Charon, Desmond and Carmen barged through the doors.

A securitron grabbed Charon's arm and announced, "YOU ARE ONE OF THE GHOULS FITTING THE DESCRIPTION FOR THE MURDER THAT HAS JUST OCCURRED. PLEASE DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND CALMLY FOLLOW MY ORDERS."

In a panic, Charon turned, still holding a screaming Ava over his shoulder and saw Carmen deliberately bump into a ghoul standing behind them. She smiled and quickly gave him a fleeting glance of her now empty hands. He looked back at the securitron with a straight face and shouted "It was not me! It was that guy, right over there!"

"I saw him do it!" Carmen chimed in, catching up with the group. She winked at Desmond and added, "I saw him put a bloody weapon in his back pocket, just check it!"

"That's the bloke you're lookin' for," Desmond growled. He loved the Courier even more than he did less than a minute ago...what else could those devilish little hands do?

"Look at that motherfucker, he has 'murderer' written all over his fucking face!" Ava shouted, pointing her finger accusingly. Carmen had just saved Charon's ass, and Ava was never more grateful to have her in the group.

The securitron dropped Charon's arm and immediately rolled over to the ghoul standing behind them in shock as he pulled out the bloody knife, the color from his face draining. He stared at it with surprise and a group of securitrons rolled towards him, wondering how the hell the blade had found itself in his back pocket.

"HE IS COMING RIGHT FOR US. FIRE," announced another securitron, even though the framed ghoul had not moved an inch. The Outcasts and the Courier scrambled away from the scene just as the securitrons opened fire, Raul running ahead of them all and shoving other patrons out of their way.

An elevator door opened and although it could have been the worst idea possible, Charon lead them all inside and punched the button to close the door, effectively sealing the fate of every single person with him.

* * *

**The song Desmond sings is called, "Hey Pachuco!" by Royal Crown Revue. I do not own this!**


	9. Mister Sandman

**Wow, it's been a while, I know! Sorry about that. I had a big move and some other life drama going on. Internet here is garbage so I'll try to update as much as I can. I've also been in this writing funk, I swear I almost threw my netbook into the lake from sheer irritation. Thank you to all of those who have reviewed and faved. I appreciate it! A special thanks to gklh910, whose awesome writing keeps me going and laughing, even when I'm having a shitty day. If you haven't read her fics, go read them! Enjoy this chapter; it's a long one. Yay!**

* * *

This was a mistake...they should have pushed through the front door with the crowd...but this door was closer. What the hell would they all do now? Charon looked down at his wife, who was gripping on to his suspenders, panting heavily. Her breaths were not from their bodies twisting beneath bedsheets; they were breaths of complete panic. He didn't make much for a leader, that was Ava's department. With a low growl, Charon decided that she should take the reins until further notice. All he had done with this mission was put the entire group between a rock and a hard place, and he had no one to blame but himself.

"Well, now what the fuck do we do? Jump out of a bloody fucking window?" Desmond snarled under his breath.

The group turned to Ava and Charon, praying that one of the pair had an inkling of an idea. Ava swiped her brow free of the matted hair, smearing some of her make up across her cheek with her wrist, and Charon silently wiped it clean with his thumb. He too, waited for an answer from the Lone Wanderer. She could come up with a plan even if he was gripping onto the edge of a cliff with one slipping hand, the other wrapped around Ava's wrist, struggling to keep them both alive.

"That fuckhead Benny lived here, right? I don't know about the rest of you and I know you have your prize, Carm, but I'd like to know exactly why he was so fucking intent on snatching that chip away," said Ava after a brief moment of silence. "Let's find his room, look through it, snatch anything worth taking and leave when everything has calmed down a bit."

"I can live with that...that cool with you, _viejo_?" Carmen asked Raul with a nod of her head. Her hand was still tangled with Desmond's and for some reason, the Courier found it comforting.

"Ava's got a good head, Boss. It's all right with me," Raul answered.

"I'd make a joke about Ava and head, but I'm still too god damn out of breath," muttered Desmond.

"Perhaps it's for the best...I might snap your neck for it," Charon growled.

"You, you need to shut the fuck up and yank that fucking stick out of your arse, mate. I'll say whatever the fuck I please, you fuckin' mick," Desmond snapped.

"Call me a mick one more fucking time Lockheart. I fucking dare you!" said Charon, pushing Ava out of his way and reaching for his silenced handgun. "I am so sick of your shit, my last nerve is hanging on for dear life right now-"

"I think you lost your nerve quite some time ago, you-"

"-Listen to me, you Limey FUCK-"

Ava covered her ears and exhaled loudly before shoving herself between the two ghouls, slapping the gun out of Charon's hand. "Would you two knock it off already? I'm going to shoot somebody if you both keep going on with this."

"That's not fair, you're going to choose that big oaf over me!" said Desmond.

Charon couldn't help but smirk at the truth in Desmond's words and thankfully, the elevator door opened, silencing the argument. With a huff, Ava lifted the hem of her dress and marched out, Carmen and Raul following behind her. Desmond narrowed his eyes at Charon, gave him the finger and walked behind them, muttering angry nonsense to himself.

"Check all the rooms," Ava called out.

Charon gave Desmond a firm shove as he walked by, almost sending the elder ghoul into a trash bin before he kicked open a door to a room beside it. It was empty, and nothing inside of it suggested that the garish Benny took residence there. The group must have checked at least twelve rooms before Desmond shouted that he had found something interesting. Ava and Charon glanced at each other and walked silently towards the room, reaching for their weapons without a thought. Charon gripped his pistol tightly, the bit of skin on his knuckles whitening, and Ava rested her fingers on his veined forearm with a soft smile. The ghoul's shoulders loosened at the sight of his wife's eyes and went slack when her lips puckered in a kiss. She could completely melt him into a useless puddle doing things like that, no matter how angry he was.

"What did you find, dick head?" Ava asked Desmond.

"A lot of good liquor for one, but this suite is pretty big and unless Benny lived in the Presidential suite, I think he lived here," said Desmond.

"Uh...Ava? _Mira,_" said Carmen, who was peeking into a room that went off from the bedroom itself.

The Vault Girl pulled open the door and saw that a wall to another room had been torn down...and she could see a securitron slowly rolling across the worn carpet.

"If that is Victor, I am going to shoot him," whispered Charon.

"Me too. I don't like him one bit," said Raul.

The robot turned to face them and instead of Victor's cowboy face or the policeman gaze they have all grown used to rolling down the New Vegas strip, the screen showed a smiling, happy face. Ava cautiously stepped into the room, Charon standing beside her with a grim face and Carmen peeking over her shoulder with a sneer.

"Who the fuck are you?" Ava asked.

The securitron's face flickered for a moment before it responded. "Hey! Hi there, it's sure good to meet you! What can I do for _you_ today?"

"Um...you could start by telling us what you're doing here by yourself...you are by yourself, right?" Ava asked.

"Yes Ma'am! That's a fine question! My function is to monitor Mr. House's data network and decode his encrypted transmissions!" said the robot.

"That's...nice, I guess," she replied.

"Allow me to introduce myself: I'm a PDQ-88b securitron, but you can call me Yes Man!" announced the robot.

"Yes Man? The fuck kind of name is that?" Carmen asked.

"It's what Benny always called me, probably because I'm programmed to be so helpful!" Yes Man answered cheerfully.

"That rat reprogrammed a securitron? All by himself?" asked Charon with a raised brow.

"Oh, he had some help. A lady friend of his! She said something about living in a fort over in Freeside, but that's all I remember!"

"Could you tell us what this...place is exactly?" Raul asked.

Yes Man turned to Raul with another flicker of his screen and answered, "This is Benny's workshop. When The Tops got renovated, he had this half of the floor blocked off for his own use. I guess you could say it's my entire world! I don't think I've ever left this room! But that's okay- I'm not complaining!"

Carmen dug in between her breasts, an action not unnoticed by Desmond, who let out a soft growl, and pulled out the platinum poker chip. She held it up to Yes Man and asked, "Have you seen this chip before?"

"Sure! Benny had me look at it a bunch of times! It's a data storage device, kind of like a holotape but a LOT more advanced. As for what's on it...well...some of Mr. House's data transmissions made it sound like the chip could upgrade his defenses somehow! That's just a guess though. The chip's a proprietary format; you need special hardware to read the data on it," explained Yes Man. "There are two locations with non-standard hardware on the network: the Lucky 38 and an underground facility at Fortification Hill. I'd look there!"

The group stared at the happy robot in a stunned silence, mouths agape. So much information...and the damn machine was giving it all up to them without any fight. In fact, it seemed ecstatic to be of service to them. Charon shook his head and cocked his gun back; there was just no way that this made any sense whatsoever. Who the hell would leave this robot free to spill all of its information? Either the robot was part of a trap that would lead them all to certain death, or everything they had just heard was a farce. He lifted his arm, pointing the barrel of the gun at the smiling face on the screen and was nearly blown away when out of all of the possible hands that reached out to push his arm down, it was Ava's.

"Let's not be so hasty here," Ava said.

Charon turned her to face him and said, "Really? Did you really just stop me from blowing this robot to hell and back? Are you fucking crazy?"

"I'm not done asking it questions, Charon!" Ava said.

"My name is 'Yes Man', ma'am," quipped the robot. Carmen and Desmond both let out a snicker at the robot's expense. Raul could only shake his head in disbelief at the unfolding events.

It was Ava's turn to threaten Yes Man. "Shut the fuck up, I didn't say you could talk yet!"

"My sincerest apologies, ma'am, I'll happily wait for your next question!" answered Yes Man.

"Ava-" Charon began. This was not the time for Ava to start getting over her fear of robots. He should have just shot it when they first walked into the room, before she could stop him.

"Please?" she asked. The ghoul relented and took a step back as he gritted his teeth. Ava looked at Carmen and Raul and asked, "Where's Fortification Hill?"

"That's Caesar's territory. We'd be killed before we could find anything," Raul answered. "The Legion doesn't like outsiders...they'd kill us ghouls without question and Carmen and you...I don't even want to think about it...at the very least, you'd be killed too, but it is more likely that you'd be tortured, raped, and taken as slaves." Carmen nodded gravelly, agreeing with her partner's words.

"That...thing might send us all to our deaths, and I'll be fucking damned if you are taken from me," said Charon. He bent down and whispered into Ava's ear, "You were raped once...that was already once too much. I won't let it happen again!"

"I know you won't let it happen...that's why I trust and love you. Asking Yes Man a few more questions won't bring that on me though," said Ava.

"Fine then," he snapped. "Ask away."

Ava frowned, but turned back to face Yes Man and asked, "What was Benny planning to do with this chip?"

"Oh! He wanted to kill Mr. House and use the platinum chip to copy my neuro-computation matrix onto the Lucky 38's mainframe! That would give me control over all of Mr. House's defenses, most prominently his securitrons! And then I just do as I'm told!" said Yes Man.

"Holy shit," Ava mumbled.

Even Charon was surprised...and a switch went off in his head. Ava's face had lit up at Yes Man's words, and he knew why. They needed a place to call home, didn't they? If they could prove there was truth behind Yes Man's words, then they had just stepped into a gold mine of power and safety. Suddenly, the ghoul was grateful he had not shot Yes Man dead...or as dead as a machine could be anyhow.

"Can this actually be done?" Charon heard himself ask Yes Man.

"Heh, now he's talkin' my language," Desmond said with a wink at Carmen. The Courier giggled and kissed his neck with a smile.

"Sure!" said Yes Man. "If the chip can be used to reset administrator privileges, it'll be super easy!"

"Say _we_ wanted to take over New Vegas ourselves...what then?" Ava asked with a devilish grin. This was better than anything she could ever imagine. The Capital Wasteland was saved and flourishing. She could do the same for the Mojave Wasteland as well, if her army held the power of the Strip. They would have a home here, her entire family and almost everyone she cared for had come along on this journey, and now there was no reason to go back. With her army, Charon's army of ghouls and an entire fleet of securitrons...the Brotherhood of Steel was so _completely fucked._

"Then I'd have to help you! I mean, it seems pretty obvious Benny wouldn't have wanted me to, but hey, not my fault I can't say no!" said Yes Man.

Carmen coughed out a laugh along with Desmond and the rest of the group before she announced, "I killed that motherfucker. You don't have to worry about him."

"Marvelous!" said Yes Man.

"What are the details of the plan?" Ava asked, almost too excited to hear the answer.

"Again, goal number one is to eliminate Mr. House and install my neuro-computation matrix on the Lucky 38's mainframe. Given how you're a new arrival, I also recommend that you get to know some of the region's tribes, so you can decide how you feel about them! By the time you've finished up all of that, the Legion should be close to attacking the Hoover Dam and we'll execute the last phase of the plan!" said Yes Man.

"I want New Vegas to be independent; I don't plan on ruling it with an iron fist, just to keep order and make everyone as happy as possible. Should I ask these tribes if they're willing to support that and me?" Ava asked.

"Oh no, I didn't mean that! The securitrons are all the support you'll need. What I meant was you should decide if you like certain tribes or not. You know- shape the future of New Vegas! Choose your neighbors! If you like a tribe, leave them alone and if you don't, exterminate them! It's whatever you want to do, ma'am! Anything else?"

"Tell me about the bunker at the Fort," Charon said.

"My guess is that it has a reader that can decode the chip and who knows what else, maybe a giant robot or something!" said the securitron.

"What I'd like to know is...let's say Mr. House was going to suffer an accident...how would that go about?" Desmond asked, cracking his knuckles loudly.

Yes Man paused for a moment, and Ava was not sure what to make of his hesitation. Maybe Charon was right after all, and this robot was just trying to kill them.

"It makes me feel really dumb to admit this, but I don't actually know. I've never been inside the Lucky 38. No one has!" he said. "Mr. House _is_ in there though; it's the central node of his entire network!"

"We've all been invited to visit the Lucky 38, actually," said Carmen.

"Wow! Do you have any idea how special that is! Seems a little mean to use his invitation against him like that, but I'm sure it's all for the best! Remember, you need the platinum chip once you're in there. A courier Benny killed in Goodsprings was carrying it!" said Yes Man. "He had me set up the whole thing!"

"Well, you sure as fuck don't know us very well...the smoothskin here might have a heart of gold," said Desmond as he pointed at Ava, "but we're all just a bunch of mean motherfuckers...especially her, when you get on her bad side of course."

"What else do you know about the courier that Benny killed?" Carmen asked, her voice seething with hatred.

"There were actually seven couriers, six of whom were carrying junk. There were mercenary teams that screened them all and knew their exact routes. Another man was supposed to carry the platinum chip, but when he saw the courier's name on the list, he asked if it was really her and made sure she got the job instead!" said Yes Man.

"Ulysses...you motherfucker..." Carmen whispered.

"Who's that, my dear?" Desmond asked.

"Don't worry about it...I didn't even tell Raul about him. One day, I'll look for his fucking ass, but now we focus on this. I have your back Ava; if anyone can fix up this shithole, it's you," said Carmen.

Ava smiled and said to Yes Man, "We'll be in touch. We need to pay Mr. House a visit..."

* * *

By the time the group left Yes Man and walked out of the elevator doors, not a soul paid them a glance. The Tops was running smoothly once again, the ruckus forgotten and in the past, though it was only two hours ago. The securitrons cleaned up nicely and restored order to the chaos that was once in the lobby. Ava's hand firmly in his, Charon walked with purpose in his step, pleased that his choice of going upstairs had not lead them all to doom. Ava held her head up high and walked with renewed swagger, Carmen following behind them with Desmond on one arm and Raul on the other. The two older ghouls had a grudging sort of respect for one another now ever since Desmond showed he was willing to help Carmen, whether it was helping her pull off the scheme of killing Benny or it was threatening to kill Victor in full view of the securitrons out on the streets of the Strip.

Outside, a man wearing a smart brown suit walked up to them and bowed at the waist with a smile. He took Ava's hand and kissed it. Charon snarled, pressing his gun against the man's head, livid that he was so forward with his wife.

"If I were you, I would not be so threatening towards a soldier of Caesar's Legion," said the man.

"I don't give a fuck who you are. You touch my wife again and that hand will never touch anything ever again," Charon snapped.

"...Forgive me, then. The eyes of the mighty Caesar are upon her. He admires her many accomplishments that she has made since her arrival and offers her his Mark," said the man as he handed Ava a gilded coin that hung from a thin leather cord. He never looked at Ava once, instead, he directed all of his words to Charon. "The crimes against the Legion, even the death of the mighty and fearless Vulpes Inculta, are hearby forgiven. Caesar will not extend this mercy again. My Lord requires her presence at his camp at Fortification Hill. His Mark will guarantee safe conduct throughout our land."

"If Caesar wants to see me, you're going to fucking look at me when you're talking to me, not him," Ava said hotly.

The man ignored Ava and continued to speak to Charon. "Go to Caesar by way of Cottonwood Cove, south of Nelson. The Cursor Lucullus will be waiting for you."

Before anyone else could utter a word, the man in the coat turned on his heel and walked off. An NCR soldier jogged towards them next, wearing a look of panic.

"Fuck...please, don't listen to that guy! I have a message for you, Miss Flint!" pleaded the NCR soldier.

Ava glared at him coldly and said, "It's _Mrs. _Flint-McKenna, asshole. Get it right, or don't even bother talking to me."

Charon chuckled to himself. Ava had insisted on taking his former surname for quite a while now. No matter how much the ghoul insisted that he had no ties to his former self, that Brigadier General John McKenna had never returned from Operation Anchorage, Ava refused to listen. It was the source of one of their few fights since they had gotten married. It had taken some getting used to, and when he woke one morning a few weeks ago to find that all of his uniforms had the name "McKenna" stitched onto the front in bold, black letters, he relented.

"S-sorry, ma'am," said the soldier.

"Are you going to look at me when you're talking or does everyone here in New Vegas not know shit about manners?" she asked.

"O-of course I'm going to look at you. The NCR has the utmost respect for women-"

"-Well then, get on with it so I can fucking get out of here already," she replied.

"It's just this note here, from Ambassador Crocker. Here you go, ma'am. Have a good day," said the soldier with a nod.

When he was out of view, Ava unfolded the note, gave it a once over, and crumpled it in her hands before throwing it on the ground with a snort.

"Fuck them, and fuck Caesar. I do what I want," she said with a grin towards her friends.

"That's my girl," said Charon, giving her a rough kiss on the top of her head.

Ava led them forward through the gates separating the different sections of casinos and walked straight for the Lucky 38, smoothing down her hair. The lights at night were amazing and blinding. At the casino's entrance, Victor stood guard. Desmond guided Carmen behind himself and reached into his coat, praying that the robot would do something foolish so he could get rid of the damn thing already.

"Good to see ya'll again! Boss is waitin' fer ya upstairs, so get a move on...everyone else has gotta stay outside," said Victor.

"Either they all come along or Mr. House doesn't get to see me at all," said Ava. "Your choice, Victor."

Victor's clawed arms clenched together for a moment but within seconds he rolled back the doors, inviting them all inside. Ava took Charon's hand and walked into the dry coolness of the building, surprised that not a speck of dust covered the many slot machines and card tables. Everything was perfect in all its pre-war glory. Victor led the group to the elevator in the center of the casino floor and announced that they would be going up to the penthouse. Ava was surprised at her coolness about the situation, and Charon's as well. They didn't know what the hell they were up against and what would happen when they killed Mr. House. She and Charon had been through much worse, and whatever waited for them on that penthouse floor, she knew it could be done.

Victor announced that they had reached the penthouse floor and the doors opened. The room was beautiful and massive. That could work in their favor if they could get rid of the many securitrons that were rolling about. Ava walked down the steps and stood before a massive computer screen with a mustached man's flickering face. She groaned loudly; it was the same shit all over again.

"Again? Another fucking AI gone rogue? The world really needs to get more creative when dishing out my enemies," Ava muttered. Charon looked at her like she was crazy and she added, "President Eden, remember?"

"I try not to," said Charon.

"Well, we're here, House! My army shows up in New Vegas and everyone fucking hated us. We stir some shit up and suddenly everyone wants to be our new best friend. So tell me, why are we here?" asked Ava.

"You've been a busy little woman, haven't you? And teaming up with the equally busy little Courier...that, I did not expect," said Mr. House.

"We're full of surprises. Ava shows up with an army to get rid of her enemies...and I get shot in the head and still manage to walk, breathe, and kill. Awesome, right?" Carmen said.

"You take your obligation to deliver a package very seriously, don't you?" he asked.

"I didn't give a fuck about the package. It was because that rat bastard, Benny, shot me in the fucking head. If he had pointed the gun at me and asked for it, I would've given it to him," Carmen snapped.

"Regardless, you delivered it now and I am grateful. I will admit, when you all ignored my invitation I predicted...negative outcomes. But you two women in particular have a certain way of exceeding expectations, don't you?"

"Always," said Ava.

"Let's have the chip then," ordered Mr. House.

"Nope! I almost died for this...and Ava here has a better method of payment than you do," said Carmen.

"Hmm...how should I put this...delivery of the chip is non-negotiable. I invite you to think carefully about what the five of you do next...surrounded by my heavily armed securitrons," Mr. House threatened.

"Attack us and you risk destroying the chip you so desperately want," said Charon.

"By the time I was thirty, I was a billionaire. Do you really think I'm going to let an upstart come into MY home and ransom MY property to ME?" Mr. House asked in a booming voice that shook the walls. "I spent two centuries searching for the platinum chip! It's MY invention, MY property, MINE! Now be a good courier and deliver it!"

"You got it, Mr. House," said Carmen with a deadly smile.

Ava, Charon, and Desmond froze into place as Carmen held out the platinum chip between her fingers. With the same smile she had been making since they stepped out of the elevator, she handed the chip to Ava and said, "Here you go, Protector Flint-McKenna. One platinum poker chip, delivered to its rightful owner."

"Not one of us is afraid of you, Mr. House. It's time for New Vegas to have a new boss...and that's me," said Ava coolly.

"You needn't be afraid of me, girl. It's my securitrons that you should be afraid of," said Mr. House. His face flickered off from the screen and a hail of gunfire erupted. Carmen snatched Ava by the wrist and pulled her out of harm's way as the three ghouls whipped out their guns and fired back at the securitrons surrounding Mr. House's screen.

"A way out, find a bloody way out!" Desmond shouted.

"We have to kill House first!" Charon yelled back, kicking over a securitron.

Another securitron came up behind Charon and he ducked down before the robot could grab him. The ghoul gripped the machine gun arm of the robot and aimed it towards the others, overpowering it completely.

"Charon is a fucking beast!" Carmen shouted happily.

Ava scrambled to her feet and replied, "One of the many reasons I married him."

"Try to shut down these fucking things, Ava! There's a computer over there on that wall, look!" Charon bellowed.

Ava hacked into the terminal and all it did was open up an antechamber to the room, releasing more securitrons. Raul and Desmond pushed one of the new enemies against a large window, shattering the glass and sending it several stories stories below them where it slammed into the ground.

"Damn it all, I said shut them down, not bring me more!" Charon yelled above the noise of gunfire.

"I'm trying! You think this is fun for me? It's my worst fucking nightmare!" Ava screeched.

Carmen provided cover fire using Ava's gun as the Lone Wanderer rushed into the antechamber, and hacked into a second computer. It unlocked an elevator in the room that led to a control room in the basement of the casino.

"Get in here! We're going down!" Ava shouted. "Hurry up!"

The ghouls backed themselves into the elevator as they destroyed the final three securitrons in the penthouse and Ava slammed her fist into the button, closing the door. Charon fell against the wall of the elevator as it rushed downward, pressing his palm against a bullet wound in his arm. Desmond and Raul were injured as well, and Carmen fawned over the pair, shrieking loudly in Spanish.

"Are you hurt?" Charon asked Ava.

"No, nothing got to me or Carmen. You men always get to play hero."

"Heroes get shot at, Ava," he said with a smile.

The doors opened and revealed a massive room filled with steel beams and red pipes. Steam rose from the floor and the group carefully walked out onto the catwalk. Ava slipped the platinum chip into a computer terminal and the option to "unseal the LS chamber" came up on the screen.

"I think...Mr. House is in there," said Ava, pointing to the life support pod ahead of them. Her finger hovered above the "enter" key and Charon leaned over her shoulder, his lips brushing against her ear.

"Do it," Charon whispered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a length of piano wire, something he had hoped to use at least once or twice ever since they arrived in New Vegas.

Charon walked forward slowly, twisting the wire in his hands, with a dangerous gleam in his lonesome blue eye. The pod began to hiss with steam as it unfolded, and Ava began to hum an old tune from the Pre-War era...one that Charon hadn't heard for quite some time. The last time he heard it was when she sang the same tune to herself during one of their first jobs as mercenaries after the whole Purifier ordeal. Raul and Desmond joined in with her, amused with her choice of song for this dark moment. Charon didn't have to tell her that he found a particular pet name she had for him very appropriate right now...the one she had given him when he would take the lives of their marks in the dead of night while they were vulnerable...Mister Sandman.

Ava, taking the high notes, with Raul and Desmond taking the lower notes, began humming the melody and snapping their fingers in time. "_Bum bum bum bum bum..."_

Carmen raised an eyebrow at the strange group. She had never met people that liked killing as much as the three standing in front of her. Charon chuckled as Yes Man's happy face appeared on the computer, freeing Mr. House from his cage and playing the melody of the song the group was humming. Mr. House's body lifted itself from its tomb and it had withered away to almost nothing. The still living corpse turned his head painfully to lock eyes with Charon. His chest heaved with painful breaths; the pod was no longer breathing for him, and the ghoul gave him a venomous smile.

"Why...have you done this?" asked Mr. House. "Centuries...of...preparation...so much...undone..."

"You tried to kill my wife. I can't have that," whispered Charon. "I'm not fond of men like you."

"You don't know...what you're doing..." Mr. House croaked.

"Oh...I do...I know exactly what I am doing...and I am _very_ good at it," sneered the ghoul.

"May there...be...a Hell...for you and...yours..." said Mr. House.

"You don't know who I am. They call me Charon, the ferryman of old lore, and I have been across the River Styx and back many times. New Vegas...New Vegas will do as your fare for me tonight, House," Charon growled.

"_Mister Sandman..." _Ava sang in a low, sultry voice. Carmen's skin prickled at the sound of it. It was haunting and beautiful at the same time and she couldn't figure out what her body wanted more: to turn on her heel and run...or to listen to that exceptional, throaty voice in stunned silence. The beast climbed up onto the pod behind Mr. House and he raised a brow at Ava.

"_Yessss?" _Charon growled. Carmen shuddered at the hint of sinister threat behind Charon's baritone voice.

"_Bring us a dream,"_ Ava, Raul, and Desmond sang together, all smiles.

"Well, if you all insist," Charon said with a smirk, wrapping the piano wire around Mr. House's throat and giving it a firm pull.

"_Make him the most lifeless that I've ever seen," _Ava sang softly. Carmen shook her head in shock. These people...god, they were fucked up in the head worse than she even was. Charon on the other hand was amused with Ava's improvisation of the song.

"_Give him our word that she's not a rover,"_ sang Raul and Desmond.

Charon leaned over and whispered, "You heard that? My girl is not a rover."

"_Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over,"_ sang the group.

Charon continued to strangle Mr. House with a determined grin on his face, Mr. House trying in vain to speak but only making pained gurgles. "The House doesn't always win," growled the ghoul, "But at least your lonesome nights here are all over."

Ava, Desmond, and Raul sang even louder, "_Sandman...we're so alone...don't have no place to call our own...please turn on your magic beam...Mister Sandman bring us our dream!"_

_ "_Those aren't the words, you fools," Charon laughed. The Outcasts had a home back East...but New Vegas suited them all much better. The moment Ava agreed with Yes Man's plans for her to take over The Strip and run things the way they were meant to be, he knew they would stay. His place was beside her, and if it was here, then it was home. Home was wherever Ava was.

Within seconds, Mr. House was dead and Charon leapt from the platform he stood on, shaking the catwalk beneath everyone's feet. He swooped Ava up in his arms and they swayed together before he turned her out in a spin, his joyous laughter ringing out through the cavernous room. Desmond took Carmen in his grasp as well and the two pairs danced alongside each other with little effort as Yes Man played the song louder than before. Carmen giggled to herself and rested her head on Desmond's shoulder.

"_Mister Sandman...someone to hold," _Charon said in a low voice. Ava threw her head back with laughter as she found herself in Charon's arms once again. Things were never as good as they were now, and she relished in the feeling of having control.

Raul sunk heavily into a chair by the computer, not at all surprised that the Lone Wanderer, the Battlemaster, the Limey and The Courier could pull something so truly impossible off, and the three Outcasts sang loudly, "_Someplace to call our home, would be so peachy before we're too old. So please turn on your magic beam, Mister Sandman, bring us, please please please, Mister Sandman...bring us our dream!" _

_ "_I love you," Charon told Ava. She kissed him, throwing her arms around his thick neck. "We have something to call our own now, and it's called The Strip."

"So...Mister Sandman, where'd you get a nickname like that?" Carmen asked Charon as she retrieved the chip from the computer terminal.

"Ava gave it to me during our mercenary days. I would kill our mark, usually in his sleep, and it just stuck," Charon explained.

The group headed back towards the elevator with wild, blood-thirsty smiles. Mr. House was dead and both Caesar's Legion and the NCR were begging for them to choose a side. Ava was satisfied with this, and mentally checked off her to-kill list. Now, it was the Brotherhood's turn to fall.

* * *

**The song is "Mister Sandman" by the Chordettes, which would be impossible for me to own, considering the song is older than I am.**


	10. Teeth Grip, Razor Sharp!

**This chapter formed in my head while I listened to "Piranha" by The Prodigy at work (I do not own this song blah blah blahhhh). Weird how things pan out, huh? A huge thanks to my favorite person on here, gklh910 for keeping up with her wonderful story. I just got a new job that wears me out, so I apologize for not updating so much. Thanks for all of you who have reviewed/followed this story. It means a lot and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter...it's been a long time coming.**

* * *

Ava leaned back in her seat, feet propped up on the desk across from her, wearing the most wicked of smiles on her face. Flicking the butt of her freshly lit cigarette, sending ashes to the clean tile floor, her gaze met Charon's lonesome blue eye. A smile of satisfaction crept onto his face and his boots hit the ground with a low growl. His wife looked absolutely menacing in her polished black combat armor, dark hair sprawled across her shoulders. He loved that smirk of hers...the one she'd make when she was plotting. If they weren't being interviewed, he would have taken her right then, on the floor, company be damned. This interview was still categorized as one of the most important things they would do since the arrival of the Outcasts here in New Vegas. Today was the day the whole world would learn of their intentions.

"So, you're the one the people of the Wasteland call The Butcher, eh? That's a rather fitting nickname for someone who has destroyed two of the largest factions in the country," a man said with a respectful grin.

Ava and Charon glanced up at the man who was infamous in New Vegas. Though his hair was thin and gray, and his burnt skin had seen better days, the ghoul known to all as Mr. New Vegas was still as handsome as ever. He once ruled the scene of New Vegas as a famous lounge singer when it was still known by the name of Las Vegas, before the Great War erupted in the States. Women swooned at the sight of him in those days, but now he was an old man who kept Vegas alive by playing the music that got it started in the first place. How he managed to preserve his golden voice and not have it grow into a harsh rasp, no one truly knew.

"I had help, you know," she said into a small microphone with a nod towards Charon. "Our army is not only lead by myself and without him and our soldiers, nothing would be the way it is."

"And who might you be?" Mr. New Vegas asked Charon, pointing to the microphone and encouraging him to speak.

Charon voice was low and deadly as he leaned forward and said, "I am the Battlemaster of the ghoul clan, Charon McKenna."

"And how did you meet The Butcher?" asked the host.

"She freed me from my chains of slavery. Her selfless act spurred me to join her on her quests and I have done so ever since. For good or ill, I will stand by her side, fight beside her, until my dying breath," Charon murmured. "The world has never seen a pair like us."

"Those sound like the words of a man in love," said the host.

"Because they are," Charon admitted.

"There you have it folks. It really is love that makes the world move forward," Mr. New Vegas said with a smile. "You said you were here to make an announcement of sorts, am I correct?"

Ava tore the microphone from the host's hands, suddenly enraged, and snarled, "This is a warning for both the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion: Our armies won't go down without a hell of a fucking fight, do you fucking hear me? You are all NOTHING compared to our family! Don't think that sending your pathetic little dogs with fucking notes and gold coins guaranteeing our 'safety' is enough to change our minds."

Charon leaned over her shoulder and growled, "I have killed Mr. House...and I will not rest until the rest of you are all rotting away beneath the unforgiving sun and New Vegas becomes the People's land once again."

Grinning, Ava continued her threat. "I fucking dare you to challenge us! What you and the rest of this land has seen our armies accomplish has just been practice for this moment. We're not afraid of you...not of the cowards running around dressed like psychotic Roman soldiers that call themselves a Legion, not of the pathetic, wannabe police force known as the NCR...and we're sure as hell not afraid of the men who wear steel...because you know what? So do we, and we're coming for you first."

"You _will_ all fall...you _will_ all die...and New Vegas will prosper more than it ever has," Charon snarled.

"Why on God's gray Earth would you reveal that to your enemies?" asked Mr. New Vegas.

"We've been through enough to know one thing: we're fuckin' _good_ at what we set our minds to. They have no chance. This is me being kind," Ava said with a satisfied huff.

Mr. New Vegas shrank back hearing their words of fury as he watched the pair stand up and clasp hands before walking out of the room, The Butcher's laughter loud in the hallway. They were right. He had never seen anything like them in all his time alive. Fearless, righteous, cold, and kind, all rolled into one. This was going to be big, and he wasn't sure his torn-up city was ready for it.

* * *

Charon and Ava sat in their office inside of the former NCR prison, looking over a pile of papers that threatened to fall over at any given moment. It was late. Both of them longed for sleep that would not come. Thoughts of the impending fight kept them both awake well into the night and so they busied themselves with drab work instead. The Outcasts were so close to defeating their sworn enemy...but they needed a way in. An easy one. There were bigger things in their future and to lose even one soldier in a fight against the Brotherhood of Steel would be painful. Ava had a plan, one that she was sure Charon would balk at, and so she waited to mention it.

There was a clatter downstairs and Charon snapped his head up as the sound of pounding boots came closer to him and his wife. Desmond appeared in the doorway, arms crossed and wearing a scowl of annoyance. He turned to his superiors and snarled, "We caught some bird sneaking around outside of the camp."

"Was she armed?" Charon asked.

"Just a stupid Power Fist. She almost clocked Raul but I restrained her. I did gag her though; couldn't take her damn squawking," said Desmond.

Raul and Boone dragged a hooded figure into the office, both men out of breath as their prisoner continued to struggle in their grip. Desmond closed the door and tore the hood off the prisoner's head with a snort of laughter. Ava smiled at the blonde woman who wore simple robes, and she pointed to the chair across from her.

"Sit," she said coolly. The woman shook her head and Ava added, "Or don't, fuck if I care. Boone, take the gag off please."

Boone reached out and untied the rag. A scream erupted from the woman, forcing every one save for Charon to reel back at the sheer sound of it.

"LET ME GO!" the woman screeched.

"Is there a reason you were poking around?" Ava asked.

"Fuck you!" shouted the prisoner. "The Brotherhood knows I'm here! We heard what you and that monster said on the radio!"

Ava grinned viciously and leaned forward in her chair, rubbing a hand over the sore knuckles of her left hand. "So The Brotherhood pretty much sent you to your death...they don't give a shit about you, do they?"

Color drained from the young girl's face at Ava's words. Still, she stood firm and kept her mouth shut. Her family would come for her.

"Let me take a fucking guess here," said Desmond with a nasty chuckle. "You look around Ava's age...so you're just a kid to those older blokes. A right pain in their arse, am I right? Always underfoot and in the way like the rugrats that live here...and they send you to scout all on your own? Sounds like they were trying to get rid of ya."

"An acceptable loss for them," Raul added.

"That's not true!" the girl snapped.

Charon yawned and stretched his arms over his head with a glance at Boone, who was looking strangely uncomfortable. He was never truly okay with the Outcasts' plans for war, and with each passing hour since the interview, he seemed more and more detached from everyone. Even now, Charon wondered if he was going to try to free the intruder. The ghoul reached for his sidearm and laid it on the desk, the barrel pointing towards Boone. The former sniper met his eye and Charon raised a brow that was barely grown in before focusing on the girl once again.

"What's your name? I refuse to refer to you as 'the prisoner' or 'the girl.' You're human and deserve to be treated somewhat decently while you're here," said Ava. She softened a bit as she stared at the frightened girl.

"V-Veronica," said the girl with barely a whisper.

"Can you get us into the base?" Ava asked.

Veronica looked away and Ava had her answer.

"I'll get right to the point. Your part in our plan is simple: you get us in, we clear them out, and we let you go. Isn't that easy?" Ava asked her.

"Why are you doing this?" Veronica asked.

"Because your faction put a hit out on our family. They sold some of our children into slavery to bring Ava and I out in the open. This was done without any provocation on our part and now they will pay for it," said Charon.

Veronica slumped down into her offered chair and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. She shook her head, muttering that it wasn't true; the Brotherhood would never do such a horrifying act...

"Look," Ava murmured. "We're to help New Vegas and ensure the safety of our family. The Brotherhood must fall. I don't really see a need to kill you so after you get us in, we'll let you go free."

"If...if I help...will you help me find her?" Veronica asked.

"Find who?" asked Charon.

"M-my girlfriend...they separated us...said it wasn't right. I don't know why. It didn't feel wrong. I loved her."

And right then, Ava knew she had the key to bring The Brotherhood down once and for all. She reached out and gently pat the girl's hand with a soft smile before ordering that her bindings be removed. Raul, Desmond and Boone lead Veronica out of the office and Ava leaned back into her chair, resting her hands behind her head.

"How do you propose we make the attack?" Charon asked.

Ava grinned and said, "We'll send in the Piranhas."

* * *

The Outcasts were surprised to learn from Veronica that the Brotherhood of Steel base was only about ten minutes away from the prison they now called home. Charon paced wildly outside of the gates, smoking cigarette after cigarette until his pack was just a crumpled empty box in his burnt hands. A handful of his children surrounded him and Ava, all wearing their Outcast armor and clutching their preferred weapons as the hot sun threatened to burn them to a sizzling crisp. Ava smoothed out the wrinkles of her husband's Officer coat and peered into his face with a grin.

"Ava, this idea is psychotic and makes us no better than those motherfuckers we are going to kill!" he shouted.

"Our kids are armed and trained. Veronica was thrown to the wolves known as us with only a Power Fist," she assured him.

"Fuck yeah, Mom! My Piranhas are ready for this shit!" MacCready said.

"We'll be right behind them, Battlemaster. I want to see what these kids can do," Desmond added. Carmen stood by his side and adjusted his Officer's cap with a smirk. The old ghoul did love when the crazy bitch showed a bit of affection, even if it wasn't a common thing for either of them.

Charon nodded and barked out, "Formations then! Come on, get on it!"

The children of Little Lamplight scuttled into their positions and slowly followed their adoptive parents into the desert. The rest of the Outcast army waved and shouted good bye and good luck to them all. The children tittered with excitement at the thought of getting revenge for themselves after the events back home in the Capital Wasteland and could barely keep quiet. Veronica walked beside Ava, head folded over so that the hood of her robes concealed her tears. The trip did not take them very long and soon, they stared at the dented door of the Brotherhood base.

"It's just down these steps," said Veronica as she opened the metal door.

Ava placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. Veronica's voice had no emotion and Ava felt a bit guilty that she had pretty much twisted the girl's mind into betraying her only family. But they had come too far to turn around. Ava assured that once the war was over, she would help Veronica find her loved one and the girl turned away, sniffling.

Charon glanced around and walked over to an air duct, ripping off its cover and peering down into the darkness.

"All right...the youngest...you will all go down these ducts and wait for the oldest ones to attack, then break through. You will be the element of surprise," said Charon. Bumble and the other younger children scrambled over to the many ducts that stuck out of the sand and waited, some hopping up and down with joy.

"R.J., go ahead and lead the others...we'll be right behind you," said Ava.

MacCready grabbed Veronica's arm and guided her roughly down the stairs, his small force following behind him. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dim lighting of the dry room; years of living in Lamplight Caverns had done wonders for him and all of the other children. He motioned for the others to take cover behind the massive crates in the room and waited until everyone was hidden from sight to speak.

"Go on," he growled, shoving Veronica forward. "Open the fucking door and no funny shit."

Veronica shivered and pressed the button on the intercom. "Hey," she mumbled. "It's m-me. Open the door please."

"You all right Vern?" asks the voice on the other side of the intercom. MacCready pressed his rifle into Veronica's side and he shot her a warning glare.

"I just feel a little sick," she said.

The door did not fully open before MacCready and the other kids piled through, bullets flying through the air. MacCready kicked down the Brotherhood soldier with a shout and slammed the butt of his rifle into the man's face. Veronica held her shaking hand over her mouth and fell against the metal wall, horrified at the actions of Ava and Charon's adopted children.

MacCready peered into the room on his left and shouted, "Joseph! Hack into this computer...see if you can give us an edge."

Joseph rushed into the room and began typing frantically as more Brotherhood soldiers came up the sole flight of stairs, attracted to the ruckus being caused. MacCready and the others unleashed hellfire on them, guarding the door and Joseph

"Hurry the fuck up Joe!" Knick Knack shouted.

"These things take time..." Joseph said in a calm voice.

"We don't have time you moron!" Princess screamed.

"All right! All right!" Joseph snapped, typing faster. He pulled up the internal security defenses for the Brotherhood stronghold and changed the settings with a grin. The security turrets would now fire upon the Brotherhood soldiers instead. "Go go go! We're good here!"

MacCready ran forward and slid down the bannister with a howl of victory. He ripped his sidearm from his holster and pistol-whipped a Brotherhood initiate, sending him to the floor. Kids came crawling out of the air vents, guns blazing, and the Brotherhood was caught completely off guard.

"It's a bunch of fucking kids!" screamed an initiate.

The Piranhas tore through the Brotherhood base with the aid of the security turrets. Biwwy kicked open a door to the dormitory and tossed in a frag grenade with a laugh, and MacCready pat him on the shoulder before pushing through.

Veronica ran up the stairs, sobbing in hysterics, as she pushed past Ava at the entrance. Ava blew out a thick plume of smoke and looked up at Charon with a satisfied grin before flicking the spent butt over his head and into the sand behind him. They could hear the screams of grown men and women...and the laughter of their children.

"MacCready is going to be a hell of a Protector one day," Ava mused.

"Not if I make him Battlemaster first," Charon said with a smirk.

"I'd like to see the carnage for myself. We can fight about which army our son will lead later," Ava said. Charon's arm was around her waist and they marched down the stairs, their heads held high with pride for their brood.

Desmond stepped forward and bowed at the waist with a wink towards Carmen. "Shall we, my dear?"

"You're not very romantic," Carmen teased, taking Desmond's arm.

"I'm working on that, bitch. Come on, I don't want to miss out on all the fun. This is the first time I can say that I'm proud of the little brats," Desmond replied.

Inside the base, Ava could hear her children shouting, "_TEETH GRIP, RAZOR SHARP! BITES HI-POWER! TEAR YOU APART!"_

_ "_PIRANHAS!" Charon bellowed as he and Ava walked the steps leading deep into the Brotherhood bunker. Ava grinned at the sight of Charon puffing out his chest like the proud father he was. The smirk on his face was the most pompous thing she had ever laid eyes on, and she could only hope to match it.

A low rumble of a roar came over the pair in a wave, their children all whooping together in response. Charon and Ava walked over the corpses of fallen Brotherhood soldiers, the cries of the slowly dying rising up to reach them. Some asked for help, some cursed them, and some asked why they were doing this, and after all they heard, the Battlemaster and the Butcher looked down at their fallen enemies and smiled. Desmond and Carmen followed, gingerly stepping on the bodies of the dead as they laughed together. The Outcast leaders and the Courier found some of the Piranhas inside of a classroom, MacCready and Princess dancing on the Scribe's desk as their friends jumped about and massacred the group of initiates. Chairs and desks where thrown across the classroom, pages ripped from books about the history of the Brotherhood and scattered like confetti, as the Piranhas tore the place apart.

"You know they get this from you," Charon muttered as he looked down at his wife.

"Well, I would have saved the dancing for after I've cleared out the bunker, but this is MacCready's mission. Whatever works for him," Ava laughed.

The Piranhas ran out of the room, whooping even louder. Joseph and some of the other boys acknowledged their adoptive father with a bump of the shoulders or fists as they rushed by. MacCready and Princess were the last to leave, their armor torn and a bloody hand print smeared across MacCready's chest.

Ava grabbed his arm and asked, "Whose blood?"

MacCready smiled wildly and said, "Not mine..."

"Damn right," Charon huffed, patting his son on the back.

MacCready pushed past his parents and ran through the hallway, knocking over several scribes as Princess followed, her gunshots ripping through their robes.

"Bloody hell, they are fucking vicious. I am proud to be their uncle today," Desmond said to Ava. He looked around and pulled her close before he added, "and if you ever fucking tell them that, I will have your head."

Charon snorted with laughter and shook his head. He was too amused by the situation to be angry with Desmond and continued walking into the bunker beside his wife. Things were going well; he only hoped that the children would at least leave the Elder alive for him to tear apart.

The bunker was split into two different levels and Ava had a feeling that all the good stuff was in the deeper, second one. She followed the cheers of her children and when a roar of victory nearly overwhelmed her, she knew they had found him...the Elder. He had been pinned against his own desk by a very smug Princess and Charon rested his hand on her shoulder. There were two men beside him; a scribe and a paladin, and both looked near death.

"You came to destroy us, but for what reason? My men have done nothing to harm you!" the Elder bellowed.

"No, but you bear the name of the Brotherhood and that's enough reason for me," Ava snarled.

Joseph tugged on Ava's arm and whispered, "There's a self-destruct terminal. I need three different key cards to get in it."

Charon pointed his shotgun at the Elder and asked, "Where are the fucking key cards?"

"I will not allow you to go through with this! We can still discuss the matter, can't we? Do not be so rash, Protector!" begged the Elder. "You would be a fool to do so!"

Ava jumped when Charon pulled the trigger three times, killing the men without a hint of mercy. Her ghoul gave her a smirk and muttered, "You know how I feel when other men try to tell you what to do."

It was the beginning of a war, and the Lone Wanderer had never been so satisfied.


	11. The Forecast

The Brotherhood of Steel is no more. Not one member was left alive when Ava and her flock emerged from the bunker, a rumbling from deep within the sands rippling outward. The children all whooped in celebration as they chased their father and Desmond back to the prison, their laughter and voices carrying out through the canyons. Ava stopped and gazed at the landscape, breathing in the dry air deep into her lungs. Carmen and Raul walked up beside her, speaking rapidly in their native tongue.

"The kids are good fighters, eh Raul?" said Carmen. She gave Ava a rough pat on the shoulders and added, "We were just talking about it."

"Yes. They've...they've made me proud today," Ava replied. Now, Ava was not one to believe in a higher being, not after what she's seen and been through, but today as she followed the Courier and her ghoul friend back to their camp, she clasped her hands together and mumbled a prayer.

_Please, if You're there...don't be angry with them for doing this. Punish me instead. We're just trying to survive in this world You've made. _

Ava shook her head, eager to escape the hint of guilt that she felt and cracked a smile at her ghoul as he and Gob took turns throwing buckets of water at the children. MacCready, not satisfied at the slowness of his father and uncle, began to pump the water furiously from its pipes until the water arched into the air. His friends all tore off their armor, washing away their grime and sins into the sands. The prison yard was alive with chatter as the rest of the Outcasts and ghoul clan gave their congratulations to the youngsters. Ava found Nova in the small crowd, holding a sleeping Kitty while Phillip tugged on her free arm. She showered her loves with kisses and hugs, grateful to see them again. It is now that Ava notices the girl from the Brotherhood, Veronica, sitting on her own beside the main building. If she were the girl, she would have been miles away at that moment, and certainly not in the middle of the enemy stronghold. Ava took a seat on a nearby bench and began to take off the top half of her armor, resting it on the table for polishing later.

"You're still here. Must be a reason. Something you want to say?" Ava asked. Veronica had been eyeing her for a while now, silent and still. Her eyes were blank and Ava wondered if destroying the bunker was enough to make the young girl snap.

"Those are your children...and you...you just let them kill without thought?" Veronica says, her voice clear and true. Ava knew what she had done and how she raised the children was a bit unorthodox, but Veronica and any others who questioned it had to face the truth: the world is a very different place than what it used to be.

"Unlike the Brotherhood and what they did for you, we have taught our children that there's more to life than their protective walls, and outside of those walls are people and things that mean them harm. They kill because they want to live." Veronica stood up and walked a few yards like a timid rabbit, afraid of the sly fox. Ava scooted down the bench, making room for the girl. "You've mentioned before that the Brotherhood took someone away from you? Your girlfriend?"

Veronica nodded and rest her chin in her hand, staring out into the desert. "They did. They said it was wrong what we had."

"I'm telling you it wasn't. If you like, we could try to find her. My husband and I are pretty good trackers, and we have the Courier. She could help as well. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you work for a place to sleep."

"Thank you. You're not as bad as I had once thought," said Veronica.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. I just feel that as a whole, our lands are better off in the hands of the people, rather than a whole bunch of sick bastards fighting for power. I may fight as if I'm going to rule over these people one day but that's not what I want. Charon and I both know that one day, our armies will disassemble and scatter to the winds, everyone leading their own lives in the end. We want to grow old together in peace without having to worry about the kids and all that."

Veronica nods in agreement, wanting the same sort of peace Ava spoke of. "Her name was Christine," she said in a low voice.

"We'll find her," Ava says, resting her hand over the girl's.

"She's probably dead. Father Elijah split us up."

"Where is he?"

"Gone. Been gone for years. So has she."

"We'll find something."

Veronica thanked Ava again and meekly walked over to Carol, asking if she could be of any help. Ava would have to keep an eye on her, but she seemed all right. Just a scared kid with nowhere to go now. She was an outcast, just like everyone else here. She belonged. Charon joined Ava at the table with a sigh. A ghoul whose named escaped Ava at the moment brought a pitcher of cool water along with some cups, and Charon poured himself and his wife a glass. The water was frigid and just what the Lone Wanderer was craving.

"We don't have to kill the girl, do we?" he asked.

"No," Ava replied. "She's lost her lover, remember? I told her we could help find her. That should be enough to keep her on our side."

"I love rescue missions. We get to play the good guys for once," he said with a grin. "I'm still your hero, right?"

"You'll always be my hero."

Ava watched as MacCready walked over to Veronica and held out his hand. It was a few moments before Veronica held out her own hand and they shook. They made small talk and MacCready called for some of the other children to join her.

_Must be making introductions,_ Ava thought.

The children all laughed and Princess took Veronica's hand, squeezing it tightly before she ran over to Ava and Charon, who were now joined by Gob and Desmond.

"Pops! Veronica told us about this kid she knows. She calls him The Forecaster. Says he can see the future. Can we go see him?"

"That means we'd have to bring the whole lot of you, no way," Desmond said with a scowl.

"If it means annoying Desmond, then of course we could stop by. You all did well, today," said Charon. Desmond rolled his eyes and walked off, in search of Carmen.

Princess clapped her hands and ran back to join her friends and share the good news with them all. It had been a good day so far, and Ava was looking forward to tonight's feast. She joined the other women in the outdoor kitchen, pleased to be done with warfare for a few hours. She stopped by a makeshift playpen and sat down in the sand beside her youngest children, pouring her cup of water into the sand. She molded the grains until they formed a mild representation of their prison fortress when Kitty stood up and began making shaky steps toward her sand castle.

"Oh no, it's a giant baby, noooooo!" Ava shouted in mock horror as Kitty stomped her feet into the nearest tower. Nova and Carol laughed loudly, wiping their eyes with the backs of their hands. Ava continued her spectacle, making explosion noises and toppling the remaining towers.

"God, I hope that's not a sign of things to come," Ava said.

"I do believe a giant infant would be the least of our worries," said Greta as she stirred her stew. She held out the spoon for Carol to taste.

"A little more salt, love. The smoothskins like it a bit saltier," said Carol. Ava smiled as Carol bent down to pinch Phillip's cheek before scooping him into her arms and holding him high above her head. "They're really such beautiful children."

"Don't spoil them, grandma," Ava said.

"Oh, you know I must! I cannot resist those eyes of theirs, all wide and glittering."

Kitty wandered over to Ava and into her arms, kissing at her mother's face. It took everything in Ava to not shed a tear and instead she buried her face in her daughter's auburn ringlets.

* * *

The next day, Ava and Charon gathered their children for a trip back to the Strip, with Desmond, Carmen, and Veronica taking up the rear. Charon climbed into the cab of a truck, adjusting the rearview mirror to get a better view of his wife from the backseat. They smiled at each other's reflections as the children piled into the back of the truck, arguing about who would sit in the best seats.

Desmond tore open the window slot separating the cab from the back of the truck and shouted, "Shut up, the bloody lot of you and take your damned seats!"

"Up yours, Uncle Des!" answered Princess, eliciting the snickers from all the lamplighters.

Desmond slammed the slot closed and muttered to himself angrily. Veronica climbed into the back with the kids and closed the truck door, banging her powerfist on the side to let Charon know they were all ready.

"You sure we can trust that bird?" Desmond asked.

"We do, but keep an eye on her all the same," Charon replied.

They drove through the desert roads for about twenty minutes, and Ava rested her head against the window with her eyes closed, listening to the kids talk about what they would ask The Forecaster. Some wanted to ask about their future spouses, some wanted to ask what would happen since they finally destroyed the Brotherhood, all but MacCready and Princess spoke aloud about their wishes for the future.

"We're almost there, just park right here," said Veronica.

Charon parked the truck near an old overpass and climbed out, squinting as the sun beat down on his weathered face. He was interested in this Forecaster, mostly because he was a child. How could a child see into the future?

"All right, kids. Line up for the Forecaster. Follow Vern here, she'll show you the way," said Ava. She looked over at Desmond and asked, "Do you want to see your future too?"

"Of course he will, he wants to know if he'll ever get into my pants," chimed Carmen.

"That's only a matter of time," replied Desmond, "But if it'll amuse you, I'll have my fortune told."

The group followed Veronica until their eyes fell upon a sad and tired-looking boy wearing a strange halo of metal around his head. He wore a blue cape around his shoulders and Ava smiled. Still a child. Her children formed a semi-circle around him and MacCready stepped forward.

"We've come to hear our futures," he announced.

"Jesus, don't be so dramatic, RJ," Charon muttered.

The Forecaster smiled and said, "A hundred caps per reading."

"A hundred caps? Is he fucking serious?" Desmond asked no one in particular.

"Just give the kid his fucking money," Ava snapped.

Desmond stepped forward and dropped a hundred caps at the boy's bare feet. He smiled up at Desmond and asked, "You, here, or everywhere?"

"Here."

The boy sat in silence, closing his eyes. His eyelids fluttered and his breathing became labored, but withing a few minutes he was alert.

"You've looked for so long for so many things. Enemies, a home, a wife. Now that you've found everything, it may be taken away from you - A flower, blood red, its petals torn away. That is what will become of it if you choose incorrectly from now on. Forecast: cloudy."

Desmond looked hard at the boy and walked away without a word more. Ava wondered what the boy meant by his prediction, and wondered if Des needed any consoling. Probably for the best if she left him alone with his thoughts. The children all took their turns and listened in wonder to the Forecaster's fortunes, some pleased, some confused. Finally it was Charon's turn.

"You, here, or everywhere?" the boy asked him.

"Me."

The boy closed his eyes but did not open them, even as he spoke. "Your face does the thinking - two to the skull, yet one gets up. Odds are against you... but they're just numbers after the two-to-one. You're playing the hand you've been dealt, but you don't let it rest, you shuffle and stack, and a gamble... a gamble that may pay off? But how? Forecast: Rapidly changing conditions."

"Thank you," said Charon. Desmond returned to the group, holding a few stimpaks in his hands after haggling at the trading post above them.

"Aren't you going to get your fortune told?" Desmond asked Ava.

"I haven't decided."

"Then why did I have to do it?"

"Because I knew it would annoy the piss out of you."

Charon wrapped his arm around Ava and said, "She'll have her fortune told. I'll pay for it."

The ghoul dropped another hundred caps for the boy and pushed Ava forward. He asked her the same question he had asked of everyone and she replied with, "Everywhere."

This time the boy stood up, eyes rolling to the back of his head. He latched onto Ava and the children screamed in fright, all pointing their guns at the boy, not knowing what else to do.

"Wait, wait!" Charon shouted, putting himself in the cross-fire.

"Bull and Bear over the Dam, at each other's throats... but a light from Vegas? Ball spinning on the wheel, more than two at the table. Placing bets. All lose in different ways. A dam of corpses, towns of corpses, scattered across the sand. But whose in what shares? Even the dealer doesn't know. Forecast: A rain of blood will flood the desert and not purify it."

The Forecaster's eyes returned to normal and he fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Ava reached down and cupped the boy's chin in her hand, and when he saw her, he wept. Charon squatted down and pat the boy's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so tired...so much thinking..." the boy cried.

"We have to go to the Strip," Charon told him, "But we are coming back for you. You don't have to live out here on your own any more, and you'll have all of these new friends to play with."

The boy looked up at Charon and asked, "R-really? I could have somewhere to live?"

"You will never have to do this again, if you don't want to. Keep your mind quiet if you like," said Charon.

The boy nodded and thanked the ghoul for his kindness. Ava was still in shock from the whole ordeal.

_A rain of blood will flood the desert..._Ava could not get the thought out of her head. What has she done?


	12. The Families of the Strip

The lamplighters were in complete awe as they walked through Freeside towards the Strip. Never before had they seen so many lights, so many colors. Ava and Charon led the pack, weaving through the poor that made their lives in Freeside.

"Mom, how could this place be near the Strip and look like this? It's just awful," Princess asked.

"Your father and I spoke about it and we've decided to help clean up the place once we're the one's running New Vegas. We'll have the armies do one final job clearing the junk, fix up the buildings for housing so people aren't living on the streets and then we can all focus on the rest of our lives," Ava explained.

"So no more fighting after you guys take over?" MacCready asked.

"There may always be fighting but the armies will assemble again if needed. Prepare yourselves to call this place home until further notice," Charon said over his shoulder. "The Brotherhood may have more bases in other parts of the states and they could be a threat."

"So why did you bring us here?" asked Bumble.

"To show you the Strip of course. Your father and I have plans to move you kids into the casino where that Mr. House used to live. We'll keep the armies at the prison for now, and move our civilians onto the Strip for protection," said Ava.

The group arrived at the gate leading into the Strip and the securitrons rolled aside, opening the gate. The lamplighters oohs and ahhs were loud and clear as the flashing lights of the Strip worked their magic. MacCready glanced over at Gomorrah with a smirk and Desmond rubbed the boy's shoulder.

"I promise you, boy, the moment you turn eighteen we'll pay that place a visit," said Desmond.

MacCready looked up at his father and the ghoul smiled. "I look forward to that night, son. We'll buy all your drinks and you will have the night of your life."

The group arrived at the Lucky 38 and the children all strained to see how high the building grew into the dark sky. Ava unlocked the door and led them inside, eager to show the kids their new home. They all piled into the elevator and Charon pressed the button for the presidential suite. Inside the suite, everything had already been arranged for the children. Separate sleeping areas for the boys and girls, a luxurious bathroom and even a common room with a pool table set up, along with a full kitchen. As the other children claimed their beds, Ava pulled aside MacCready and Princess, leading them to the master bedroom.

"Now, I have to make sure, you two are serious about each other, right?" Ava asked them. They both nodded and clasped each other's hands as further proof. "Good. Your father and I decided that you two are old enough to share this room. Give you a little privacy from the younger kids, but only if you swear to me that you two won't fuck this up."

MacCready and Princess both smiled and hugged their mother as hard as they could, thanking her over and over. She left them on their own and found Charon in the common room, playing a game of pool with Desmond. Veronica sat on the couch, reading a story to Bumble.

"Now that the kids are here, it's time for us to pay Yes Man another visit. Let's get to it," Ava announced.

"I'll watch the kids while you're gone, unless you need me?" Veronica asked.

"That will do just fine. Thank you," said Charon.

Charon nudged Desmond just as he was about to put the eight ball in the corner pocket and laughed as the old ghoul missed his shot completely. There would be time for games later on.

* * *

Ava, Charon, and Desmond walked into Benny's old suite and found Yes Man rolling about with his smiling face plastered on the screen.

"You're back! Have you dealt with Mr. House yet?" Yes Man asked cheerily.

"He's long gone, my friend. Now, what's the next step?" Ava asked.

"If I were you, I'd check with all of the different factions that surround New Vegas. Decide who you like and don't like, and those you don't like, well you could just get rid of them!" he answered.

"For the war that's coming?" Ava asked.

"Oh no, the upgraded securitrons will handle most of the fighting, but the more the merrier!"

"Who are the different factions?" Charon asked.

"Oh, there are so many! There's the Brotherhood of Steel, the Omertas, the White Glove Society, the Great Khans, and the Boomers. The Boomers will be the hardest to meet because they live on a base that has heavy artillery. No one has been able to get in to see them in a long time!" Yes Man explained.

"All right, sounds like a plan. We'll tackle the factions here on the Strip first. We've already destroyed the Brotherhood," said Ava.

"That's wonderful! You're way ahead of me!" said Yes Man.

"The Khans should be easy to get on our side as well," added Desmond.

"Then let us not waste anymore time. We have work to do," said Charon.

* * *

Desmond eyed Gomorrah, nearly drooling at the scantily clad women urging customers inside. Ava and Charon could only shake their heads as they made their way into the casino. The club was grand, decorated with a pit of fire and red velvet drapery throughout the rooms. Ava had to admit, this was a pretty swanky place. Visitors gambled at the tables as beautiful waitresses brought them drinks. The strip club within the casino was called Brimstone, and a massive stage took up most of the place. Men and women alike hooted and hollered at the women, throwing caps onto the stage, eager to see more naked flesh.

"If you two don't mind, I'd like to stay and watch the show," said Desmond, reaching for some bottlecaps in his pockets.

"Enjoy yourself, we'll deal with the business end," said Ava.

Charon took her hand and lead her through the crowd and led her through a door to the courtyard. It was just as lavish as the rest of Gomorrah, only filled with couches and naked men and women. "I hope this isn't a 'clothing optional' area. I'm not too fond of the idea of other men drooling over you," said Charon.

"That happens regardless," replied Ava. Charon chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

A woman in a pink nightgown took notice of the pair and began to make her way towards them. She was obviously strung out on something or incredibly drunk, knocking over a few tables and a potted plant.

"Well, well, what do we have here? So you've followed the call of your desires...all the way to the arms of Joana, moi. Now that you've found me, I wonder, do you have what it takes?" said the woman.

"I always have what it takes, baby," said Ava with a sly grin. She would never stray from Nova but it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of fun with a drunken hooker.

"Oh! Confident, I like that. Who's the big guy here?" Joana asked, rubbing Charon's forearm. The ghoul took a step back and cleared his throat. He would have none of this nonsense.

"My husband," Ava answered.

"So, what do you want to do with what you've got?" Joana asked.

"We just have some questions is all, ma'am," said Charon.

"All right honey, what do you want to know?"

"Tell me about the Omertas," said Ava.

Joana led them both to a couch nearby and poured them each a glass of beer, bending over just enough to show them that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the nightgown. She turned with a wink and sat down across from them.

"They treat us just fine here. Employee discount on the booze, a place to live, can't really complain, can I? Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"No, that seems to be enough for us, what say you, Ava?" Charon asked.

"It's just what we needed. I'll be sure to send some of our lonely soldiers here on leave. They'd love this place," she said.

Ava thanked Joana for her time and the couple returned to Brimstone to find Desmond sitting on a chair onstage, with several women undoing the clasps of his armor.

"Let's go, Des! To the Ultra Luxe!" Ava shouted.

"The bloody hell I will, I just got here!" he shouted. The women around him laughed and threw their arms around his neck.

"Guess it's just you and me, love," Ava said to Charon.

* * *

The Ultra Luxe was a different place entirely. The moment Ava and Charon stepped through the doors, they were greeted by a man wearing a venetian mask. In fact, most everyone was dressed to the nines, wearing similar masks on their faces. Ava and Charon stood out in their polished armor, not sure of what to do with themselves. After checking their weapons in at the front counter, a small handgun hidden beneath Charon's armor, the pair walked about the room. The music was pleasant and classical and the bar was certainly the centerpiece of the room with its massive blue glass structure.

"We don't fit in at all," Ava whispered.

"It's because something is off about this place. You can't see their true faces," he answered. "We'll poke around, they must be hiding something, but let's have a drink first."

They sat at the bar beside an older gentleman wearing a cowboy hat, who tapped Charon on the shoulder and tipped his hat forward.

"Beg your pardon stranger, but my name's Heck Gunderson and I'm looking for someone. You ain't seen a young man with dark brown hair and a white hat on lately, have you?" the man asked.

"No, we have not," Charon answered.

Gunderson sighed heavily and said, "Ain't nobody got one damn piece of news about my boy? Not one lousy speck of information? Ain't got one brahmin unaccounted for across a dozen ranches, but I'm here for an hour and my son just up and disappears on me."

"You've lost your son? Maybe he just went out drinking someplace. Or maybe he snuck over to Gomorrah," Ava suggested.

"My boy, Ted, was right here. I didn't leave him but a minute. I told him to stay put while I talk things over with the White Glove folks. He was never one to stay tied to one spot though; takes after his mother. Got most of my staff out looking for him right now and I'm here, hoping he'll show up again," Gunderson explained.

"What business did you have here at the hotel?" Charon asked.

"That's between me and the White Glove Society but let's just say that they control the food supply around here and I've got lots of food to give," Heck answered.

"Let us help you find your son," Ava offered. "We have kids as well and we'd be upset if one of them had gotten lost."

"There'd be a lot of money in it for you if you brought him back safe, and if not, I'll have the hides of those that harmed him."

Ava and Charon finished their drinks and went wandering around the hotel. They noticed the restaurant within the casino and when they walked in, they blown away by the formality of the place. Ava wasn't sure if she could ever live such a life. Everything was too clean, too expensive. She and Charon had racked up a small fortune but they preferred not to spend it on frivolous things.

"Look, there's a lady without a mask, let's talk to her," Ava whispered, pulling on her husband's arm.

The woman in the pink dress took one look at their armor and sneered, going back to her paperwork. Ava wanted nothing more than to slap that smug look off the woman's face.

"Welcome to the Ultra Luxe. I do hope it exceeds your expectations," she said in a dull voice.

"We're looking for someone who went missing here recently," said Ava.

"This again? I thought it was all settled. I answered every one of the investigators questions to his satisfaction and gave all the help I could. I know our reputation hasn't always been spotless, but that's all in the past now. How some people can't get over it is beyond me. For the last time, the White Glove Society has never and will never consume human flesh for any reason. It's written in the charter!" said the woman.

"Wait, wait, wait, you guys used to eat human flesh?" Ava asked. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"There was another time, a dark time, and we weren't known as the White Glove Society yet. But that's all changed now. We've evolved past such base impulses since settling in our new home," the woman explained.

"We're looking for a man who just went missing recently," said Charon.

"Well, this can't be," said the woman. "Not to long ago, a bride went missing here as well. We all thought she had cold feet. But two disappearances in my hotel? What will people say?"

"Is there anyone else we can talk to?" Ava asked.

"You could always speak with the maitre d', Mortimer," said the woman. "He's in the lobby just outside of the restaurant."

Ava thanked the woman for her information and the moment they exited the doors of the restaurant, Charon pulled Ava into a corner. He kept checking over his shoulder to see if anyone was too close for his liking before he spoke.

"Do you realize what's going on here?" he asked his wife.

"Yeah, they're probably eating people in that fucking restaurant. Jesus. I can't have that shit going on once we take over. That's a crime against nature."

"We must be sure. Do you have any stealth boys on you?"

"I have three."

"Good, let me have one and after we speak with this Mortimer character, we'll sneak around and see what we can find."

The ghoul and his wife walked through the lobby and found another man, dressed in coattails and a black top hat. His face was also free of a mask.

"Do you think they wear those masks on purpose? To cover their shame?" Ava asked.

"I believe so. Come, but I want to do the talking this time."

The pair walked up to the desk and the man smiled widely. "How may I be of service to you two?"

"I've heard that your group dines on human flesh," said Charon without pause.

"Ah, yes, I've heard that as well. Jealous people say nasty things. I feel sorry for them."

"I too know what it is to feel the craving. How can we support your cause?"

Ava stared at her husband in awe. Apparently, she wasn't the only one with a silver tongue.

"Good. Then you know what it is to be discreet in matters of nutrition. Perhaps you can help me. I'm in a bind. I've been planning an exquisite Society dinner but there's a bit of a problem with the main course. He's got a powerful and temperamental father," Mortimer explained.

"The main course is a person?" Charon asked.

"Yes. The wrong person. We scouted the right one for weeks. The heir to a mercantile empire. Sort of a black sheep. He cut ties with his family and left their estate to wander. He was ideal; corn-fed and well-to-do, but no one to miss him if he were to disappear. Unfortunately, the trap my subordinates for him failed and as he escaped, he saw their faces. Now he's wary."

"What did you do?" Charon asked.

"I asked for a last minute replacement, and they stole the son of the most dangerous brahmin baron in New Vegas while he stayed at this very hotel. Needless to say, this could be a disaster if things aren't put back the way they should be, and I still need somebody reputable to serve for dinner."

Ava was feeling sicker by the minute. She has done plenty of atrocities, but she has never even thought about cannibalism and here is a person who acts like he's talking about making a brahmin steak. She was beginning to feel faint and held onto Charon's arm with the fakest smile she could muster.

"Strictly speaking, we're no longer allowed to eat people, but I'm hoping the right person and preparation will sway Marjorie to see things my way," said Mortimer.

"Tell us what you need to do," said Charon.

"I need a replacement and I need the boy taken care of. The replacement must be healthy and well-bred. One can't make steak from gristle."

"What about the boy you've kidnapped?"

"Ted Gunderson is his name. It would be simplest if you could convince him this was all a misunderstanding, but if he won't listen, we can't very well let him go. He'll have to be slaughtered and served and we wouldn't need the replacement. But you would need to deal with his father. You could always kill the boy and smear blood around his father's room here and frame him."

"I'll do it. Where can I find Ted?" Charon asked.

"Splendid, splendid. The boy is being held in the kitchen below the Gourmand. Here are some keys that will allow access to him. Thank you so much for your help," Mortimer said with a bow.

Charon led Ava to a private corner of the lobby and she whispered harshly, "What the fuck are planning? I'm not killing some kid!"

"We are not. We are going to find a way to expose Mortimer for what he truly is. He is the only bad egg here, and everyone else seems to have gotten past what they've done. Let's go to the kitchen, hurry."

The pair walked as quickly as they could without drawing any attention from themselves. Inside the kitchen, two brahmin carcasses were strapped to the wall as they were roasted by White Glove members with flamers. They wandered through the hallways and were stopped by a White Glove member.

"Hey, what are you two doing down here?" he asked them.

"Water main burst upstairs. They sent us down to survey the damage," said Ava, squeezing Charon's hand for a moment.

"Just make it quick, all right?" and the man left without further interruption.

"That was good, Smoothskin."

"Thanks. I'm pretty good at this if you haven't noticed."

After looking through the kitchen for some time, they found the head chef, furiously chopping vegetables for tonight's feast. Charon shoved Ava forward and she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can't you see I'm busy here?" the chef shouted. "Get back out there and get to work!"

"I think you have us confused with someone else," said Ava.

"Oh really? So despite your filthy face and your vacant expression and your complete lack of human dignity, you're telling me that you're not a server?"

"Why do you have to scream at people all the time? Are you all right?" Ava asked.

"Just because my father left us when I was five and my mother was a junkie and my sisters locked me in crates because they hated me doesn't mean...shit, what is wrong with me. You know what? Fuck this. Here's my recipes. I don't need this shit anymore, I fucking quit!" and with that, the head chef handed Ava a list of recipes and a key to the freezer before storming off, throwing his apron across the room.

"Well, that was easy. Let's see if I can do this...it's supposed to resemble human flesh but it's actually veal," said Ava.

"Works for me. Let's give it a go and find Ted."

Ava worked quickly, following the recipe as best as she could and was proud of the results. At last, it was done and she walked over to the intercom to call the head waiter.

"How may I assist?" he asked.

"Time to serve the meal," Charon said, disguising his voice.

"At once, sir."

Within moments, the head waiter appeared and took the food. Ava couldn't believe that their luck was this good. Now all they had to do is find Ted.

"He must be being kept in here, Smoothskin," said Charon as he looked at a locked freezer. He disengaged the lock and there stood a very angry Ted Gunderson.

"My daddy is going to kill all you bastards for doing this to me!" Ted snarled.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, man. We've come to get you out of here. Here, take this stealth boy so we each have one," said Ava.

"My daddy sent you?" Ted asked. "God damn it, I almost died in here, what took you so long? And who did this to me? They hit me over the head before I got a good look at them."

"A member of the White Glove Society did this. You were going to be served at the dinner. The others had no idea. We're going to expose him," said Charon.

"What in the sam hell? Eat me? What kind of sick bastards eat people?"

"Don't worry, that fucker is going to pay. We plan on running the Strip and we'll have none of this cannibalism shit going on," said Ava. "Come on, follow us."

The group activated their stealth boys and carefully made their way back upstairs. They were lucky that no one passed by. Must be too busy with the dinner going on upstairs. When they finally made it back to the dining room, Ava signaled Ted to get the hell out of there and back to his father at the bar. Charon and Ava waited in a corner until their stealth boys gave out and listened to Mortimer give his speech.

"I know I'm not the scheduled speaker but I have a few words I'd like to say," Mortimer began. "There was a time not so long ago when we were bound together not as members but as a family. As a clan. And when Mr. House came to us with his proposal, we accepted, knowing we would gain much. Little did we know how much we'd lose in the process."

"He's so full of shit," Charon whispered.

"I can't wait to pull the rug out from under him," Ava replied.

"As a society, we've endeavored to sample the finest food and drink the world has to offer. But we are living a lie. There is a meat sweeter than the most cornfed livestock. Most of you have tasted it. All of you have coveted it," Mortimer explained. "Among us, it is a crime to discuss a return to the old ways that unified our people. Tonight, that all changes. The taboo ends. Let me finish Marjorie! You don't know it yet but you are all now guilty of a greater crime. One that ordinarily bears the harshest of punishments. Surely that you are all guilty warrants not only universal amnesty, but also a renewed discussion."

The room began to fill with hushed whispers. Most people pushed their plates away in disgust and Ava hoped that Mortimer would really just shut the hell up already.

"For our society to be truly elite, we must dine on the most delicious, the most exclusive food known to us, and tonight, for the very first time as a society, you are sampling that very dish, the meat we are forbidden to taste, the way that it was meant to be eaten! Fellow members of the White Glove Society, bon appetit!"

"That's our cue, Smoothskin," whispered Charon.

Ava and Charon walked out from their cover and grabbed Mortimer by the arms, restraining him.

"What the?" he shouted.

"Bad news, Mortimer!" Ava snarled. "No one's eating the boy you kidnapped tonight! It's veal, you disgusting pig."

Ava turned to the room and announced, "The food you're eating is safe but you all heard his confession! The punishment for cannibalism is death!"

The White Glove Society rose up from their seats as one and Charon lifted Mortimer off his feet, throwing him to the mob. They watched as they tore him apart, skinning him alive. Charon took Ava's hand and led them away from the massacre.

"Three factions down, only two more to go," Ava said with a smile.


End file.
